With a population of about 120,000, the Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding, which includes neighbourhoods such as Alderwood, Mimico, New Toronto, Long Branch and Humber Bay, has been a Liberal stronghold for a decade.
James Maloney, 60, represents the Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Originally from Fort William, Ont., now a part of Thunder Bay, Maloney was first elected in 2015 and has been re-elected in both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
Before winning his seat, Progressive Conservative candidate Bernard Trottier won the seat in 2011, before losing to the Liberals in 2015.
His journey into politics started when the City of Toronto designated him as a councillor for the area in 2014.
Prior to entering the political stage, Maloney served as a litigation lawyer for 20 years.
He has lived in Etobicoke with his wife and their dog Walnut for more than four decades.
With 97 per cent of the polls reporting in Etobicoke-Lakeshore, the Liberals have secured about 57 per cent of the votes, while the Conservatives took 39 per cent of the votes.
The New Democratic Party, represented by Cory Wagar, reached just more than 1,500 votes.
It appears Liberal Leader Mark Carney has secured another minority Liberal government.
He is currently greeting supporters throughout the venue, before making a speech at the podium around 11:45 p.m.
Additionally, Carney has secured another Liberal government, however, it is yet to be decided if they will win a majority or minority government at this point in time.
In a speech to his supporters, Maloney said these past few months of his campaign were “incredibly challenging.”
“In December of last year, the obituary of the Liberal party had been written and signed by Pierre Pollievre, and he was wrong,” he said.
“It’s truly, truly remarkable the recovery, the rebound this party has seen, and it’s for one reason, and that’s because Canada is the greatest country on Earth,” Maloney said.
He also credited his supporters and said he could not have secured the riding without their unwavering support, but overshadowing it was the political climate from our neighbours across the border.
“We’ve gone through a very challenging time in Canada,” Maloney said
“We’ve gone through the political rhetoric, you’ve seen what negativity can do, you’ve seen what name-calling can do, you’ve seen what’s going on in the United States right now with Donald Trump,” he said.
“It took something this dire, this drastic, for Canadians to stand up and realize just how proud we are,” Maloney said.
He said these reasons are all why this election is so important, and why their party won in the riding.
“I’m going to go out and prove to every single one of those people [those who didn’t support him] that I represent them too,” he said.
“I’m going to get them to change their mind and say you know what this is a great country, this is a great community, and I’m glad he’s our MP, that’s my goal,” Maloney said.
