Voters in London-Fanshawe are sending NDP incumbent Lindsay Mathyssen back to Ottawa.
Mathyssen, who was first elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding in October 2019, easily reclaimed the seat on Monday taking nearly 44 per cent of the vote with 200 of 240 polling stations reporting.
Liberal candidate Mohamed Hammoud and Conservative candidate Mattias Vanderley came in second and third with 24 per cent and 23.6 per cent, while People's Party of Canada candidate Kyle Free was a distanct fourth with 9 per cent.
"I am so honoured. You have no idea what this means to me to be able to help people" said Matthyssen, speaking from her campaign headquarters on Oxford Street East on Monday night. "I really love my job, so I am so grateful to keep doing it."
Mathyssen first took over the seat from her mother, Irene, in 2019. Irene held the seat for 13 years prior to that before retiring from politics. That opened the door for the younger Mathyssen to take the seat nearly two years ago. She noted being accessible to her constituents has been a big part of her style as an MP and she has no plans to change that.
"Ensuring that we are there for people, we are always available and fighting for them, that is what the people of London-Fanshawe expect and what we are going to keep doing," said Mathyssen.
Her main priority going forward will be on making life “more affordable” for Canadians.
"One of the things I have heard so much of at the door step is about affordability, making ends meet. People are worried about what comes next and there is so much uncertainty," said Mathyssen. "I think people need that leadership. They needs to know a government is going to provide that fairness, that equality, that is why we are pushing a wealth tax, on closing those tax loopholes, on bringing in newer forms of federal revenue to ensure we can invest them back into people. I want to ensure people have smaller bills - cellphone bills, prescription bills, dental care bills - those are the things I'll be pushing for."
She added that she will also keep pushing the federal government for lower costs for child care and affordable housing.
Mathyssen was declared the winner in her riding early on in the evening, taking an early lead and finishing with nearly 6,000 more votes than Hammoud, her closest competitor.