Another Mississauga Liberal sweep helps elect second Trudeau minority government

While all of Mississauga will stay red for a third federal term in a row, the race in Mississauga—Lakeshore was the only one that kept voters up, before a relatively close race also went Justin Trudeau’s way.

When enough ballots were counted early into the morning, Liberal incumbent Sven Spengemann had won by 2,936 votes over Conservative Michael Ras, with 243 of 254 polls reported. It was the closest race in the city, as the two rookie Liberal candidates, Iqwinder Gaheer and Rechie Valdez, easily won their races, along with the other three incumbents. 

In 2019, Spengemann won by 2,289 votes over his previous Conservative opponent.

When the Liberal incumbent won again, Ras, who was at a campaign party just down the road, came to congratulate Spengemann. The two came together to celebrate the end of the election.

The two Liberal rookies on the Mississauga slate joined the remaining three incumbents who also had an easy time Monday, as voters in the other five ridings did not make them close.

Iqwinder Gaheer has an 8,959 vote lead with only one poll left to report, and Rechie Valdez has a 6,876 vote advantage with just one poll left to report.

Gaheer’s win in Mississauga—Malton, where long-time Liberal Navdeep Bains retired, means the young MP will be able to advocate for more affordable housing and better childcare in his riding, issues he raised throughout the campaign.

Gaheer told The Pointer that after seeing Bains retire he believed now would be the time to help out his community.

Iqwinder Gaheer captured the riding of Mississauga-Malton.

(Image from The Pointer files)

Valdez campaigned in Mississauga—Streetsville after securing the Liberal nomination following the decision by the riding’s former Liberal MP, Gagan Sikand, to drop out of politics. He had been on an extended leave and left constituents without a federal representative since October. The easy win by Valdez suggests constituents were either unphased by Sikand’s absence or voted with an eye to the national result as a priority.

In Mississauga—Centre, incumbent Omar Alghabra was the first Liberal MP in Mississauga to be called the winner. As the Minister of Transportation, Alghabra sought his third term as the riding’s MP. Days before the election was called, Alghabra announced his government would help fund expanded GO service from Milton to Mississauga, welcome news for those who use the line to commute.

Mississauga—Centre will again be represented by Liberal MP Omar Alghabra. (The Pointer file photo)

He has 11,776 more votes than his Conservative challenger with only one poll in the riding left to report.

Liberal incumbent Iqra Khalid also won her riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills by a large margin, with 8,171 more votes than Conservative candidate James Nguyen and only one poll left to come in. It’s likely the remaining poll in each riding is for mail-in ballots, which will probably be added to the totals Tuesday. 

Khalid has spoken a number of times in the House of Commons about her riding’s broad diversity and has been outspoken against Islamophobia and as a champion of women’s rights, issues that continue to resonate with her constituents.

Liberal incumbent Iqra Khalid easily won her riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills and will be able to continue fighting for human rights. (The Pointer file photo)

In Mississauga East—Cooksville, Peter Fonseca won by 7,263 votes over Conservative Grace Adamu. His wife sits on Mississauga City Council and the two have created a household name for themselves in the area.

Fonseca spoke numerous times in the House last term about Mississauga East—Cooksville and the challenges his constituents face during the ongoing pandemic. 

In the end, Mississauga voters, like those in many other parts of the country, did not want change during a time when so much uncertainty and fear about the future still permeates the political discourse.

The 2021 federal election yielded the exact same result in Canada’s sixth largest city, an easy Liberal sweep across all six of its ridings.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @taasha__15

COVID-19 is impacting all Canadians. At a time when vital public information is needed by everyone, The Pointer has taken down our paywall on all stories relating to the pandemic and those of public interest to ensure every resident of Brampton and Mississauga has access to the facts. For those who are able, we encourage you to consider a subscription. This will help us report on important public interest issues the community needs to know about now more than ever. You can register for a 30-day free trial HERE. Thereafter, The Pointer will charge $10 a month and you can cancel any time right on the website. Thank you