Michael Barrett wins again in Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes

Conservative Michael Barrett has been re-elected as MP for Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes for a fourth time.

Barret thanked the voters for making it happen.

Barrett says that he’ll take the affordability message he heard while knocking on doors to Parliament Hill.

As the official opposition, Barrett says there will be more Conservative MPs at Parliament Hill holding the Liberals accountable.

Barrett beat Liberal Lorna Jean Edmonds keeping the riding Conservative Blue. He first won the seat in a 2015 byelection after the sudden death of MP Gord Brown.

The victory continues a long trend of Conservative wins in the riding. The last Liberal to hold the seat was Jim Jordan, who lost it in 2004 to Brown.

During the campaign, Barrett said affordability was the top issue for local families. That was followed closely, he said, by Donald Trump’s trade war with our country.

Barrett also faced NDP candidate Paul Lancione, Green Party’s Randi Ramdeen, and People’s Party’s Hailey Simpson. Edmonds had previously run for the Ontario Liberals.

In 2021, Barrett captured just over 50 per cent of the vote. Final numbers from this year’s election are expected to be released Tuesday.