Liberals projected to hold onto NDG-Westmount seat in federal byelection

The CBC News decision desk has projected Liberal Anna Gainey will win the federal byelection in the Montreal riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount.

The seat was left vacant when former Liberal cabinet minister Marc Garneau retired in March from a political career that spanned 14 years. 

Gainey spoke to her supporters Monday night during a small celebration.

"I am humbled by your confidence in me," she said. "It is an absolute privilege to serve the community and I thank you for your trust."

She also thanked the volunteers who helped her with the campaign.

"You worked so hard, giving so much time and energy over these last few weeks," she said.

Gainey served as a policy advisor to two ministers of national defence and veterans affairs, and as president of the federal Liberal party. Most recently, she has been executive chair of a think tank, Canada 2020.

Gainey has also served on the boards of several local and national volunteer organizations, including WarChild Canada, the Pointe-à-Callière Museum, and the Fondation de l'Institut de Cardiologie de Montréal.

She is also founder of the Gainey Foundation, which provides funding for environmental and arts education programs for youth, her profile says on the Liberal Party's website.

There were 10 candidates on the ballot in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount, including Jonathan Pedneault for the Green Party, Jean-François Filion for the NDP, and Conservative Mathew Kaminski. The full list of candidates can be found here. 

Pedneault is a human rights activist, former journalist and deputy leader of the Green Party. Filion is a long-time English teacher and a member of the Committee of Relations with Indigenous People. Kaminski has work experience in public audit and institutional investment accounting.

The polls opened at 9:30 a.m. and closed at 9:30 p.m. 

There were over 73,000 eligible voters in NDG–Westmount. By 11:05 p.m. Gainey had 48 per cent of the 8,261 votes that had been counted. Of 204 polls, 100 had reported.

The riding is a longtime Liberal stronghold. Before retiring, Garneau had held the seat since 2008 when the riding was known as Westmount–Ville-Marie. Its name and boundaries were changed in 2015.