Election night was one of “mixed emotions” for Sudbury Conservative candidate Fred Slade.
“I'm a little disappointed that we haven't done better here in Sudbury, but I'm very excited to see what's happening across the country,” he said.
Slade earned a total of 12,916 votes, or 28.4 per cent of those who voted.
Standing outside a room full of blue balloons and enthusiastic supporters at Grumblers Pub, he said the win was “a great victory for Canada.”
Lynne Reynolds, Conservative candidate for Nickel Belt, was also “thrilled” with the results.
“That's actually the reason we are here celebrating here tonight,” she said. “It's what we wanted all along.”
Lynne Reynolds, federal Conservative candidate for the Nickel Belt riding, and her daughter Leslie (left) and grandson Christopher tuned in to televised election coverage at Grill Marks Bistro. Photo by Jenny Jelen
She collected 12,503 votes, which translate to 27.9 per cent.
While her election team assembled at Grill Marks Bistro in Val Caron, Reynolds said she was pleased with how her “good, honourable campaign” panned out, despite losing to NDP incumbent Claude Gravelle.
“I am extremely proud to have been on the Prime Minister's team,” she said. “I think I was able to get my main messages out, (and ) I stayed on message.”
While neither of the Conservative candidates ended up in the winner's circle, both said they felt optimistic.
Awaiting results, Reynolds said she felt “energized” and “satisfied.”
“It has been a great five weeks,” she said.
With this election out of the way, Slade said he is now aiming to represent Sudbury in the next federal election.
“I fully intend to start the next campaign the day after tomorrow,” he said. “Not tomorrow — we have some cleanup to do from this one.
“We gained a lot of experience that's going to help us out in the future,” he added.
Slade said running in this election will help put him and his team in a better position for the next one.
“We've come leaps and bounds in experience and knowledge this (campaign),” he said. “We hope to just keep doing the same thing, except with better results of course.”
