Conservative Party of Canada candidate Aaron Gunn is the member of parliament-elect for the North Island-Powell River riding, after voters had previously elected a New Democratic Party MP for three consecutive elections since 2015.
In an interview with the Peak, Gunn said the electoral results feel like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.
“I think they are still counting some votes, but at the end of the day, it’s just very humbling and I’m very honoured at the faith placed in me by the people and the voters of North Island-Powell River,” said Gunn, the day after the election. “It’s an awesome responsibility to be the elected representative and to go to Ottawa to be their voice in the House of Commons.”
Gunn said he is very excited to be going to Ottawa, and he is not sure about how the process of becoming a member of parliament works, but his plan is to go to Ottawa to be a loud voice for the people in this riding, and to make sure the priorities and concerns of constituents are being voiced and represented in the nation’s capital.
“We want to have an open-door policy so that anybody can reach out with whatever issues they have with the federal government, or concerns that they would like to see raised,” said Gunn. “We’re going to make it a priority for working on the affordability crisis, for public safety concerns such as we’ve seen in downtown Powell River, and also, to be a strong advocate for the resource sector that is the fuel that powers the economy in this riding.”
Other issues of importance to Gunn include the national debt. He said it has doubled over the past 10 years and that the federal government is running a $60 billion deficit.
“We need to bring some fiscal accountability back to this country,” said Gunn. “Also, we’ve come up short in the funding and support for the men and women in uniform. There’s a large military base in this riding down in Comox. We need to do a much better job of supporting our soldiers, sailors and airmen and women. We also need to do a better job supporting our veterans.”
Gunn said the Conservatives didn’t achieve the result they wanted, but it is worth noting that 2025 was the best performance for a conservative party in a national election from a vote perspective since 1988.
“That’s quite an achievement for Pierre Poilievre and all the candidates,” said Gunn. “We are going to hold the Mark Carney Liberal minority to account. We are going to continue to press for change and stand up for Canadians and voice their concerns.”
According to the Elections Canada website, at the time of the interview, with 309 of 310 polls reporting, Gunn won the riding with 30,551 votes, or 38.7 per cent of the votes cast. New Democratic Party candidate Tanille Johnston had 25,838 votes, or 32.8 per cent of the votes cast.
Liberal Jennifer Lash had 20,468 votes, or 26 per cent of the votes cast. Green Party candidate Jessica Wegg had 1,513 votes, or 1.9 per cent of the votes cast.
People’s Party of Canada candidate Paul Macknight had 329 votes, or 0.4 per cent of the votes cast. Independent Glen Staples had 154 votes, or 0.2 per cent of the votes cast.
In total, there were 78,853 valid votes cast from the 109,060 registered electors, or 72.3 per cent. Population in the North Island-Powell River riding is 125,925.
Later in the day, Elections Canada updated the results, including totals from the 310th poll counted.
Nationally, the Liberals are leading or elected in 169 ridings, with 43.6 per cent of the vote, and 8,374,000 votes having been cast. The Conservatives are leading or elected in 144 ridings, with 41.4 per cent of the vote, and 7,954,171 votes cast.
The New Democratic Party was elected in seven ridings, with 6.3 per cent of the vote, and 1,206,660 votes having been cast. The Green Party has one seat, with 2.4 per cent of the vote, and 239,069 votes having been cast.
In Quebec, the Bloc Québécois are elected or leading in 22 ridings, with 6.3 per cent, from 1,232,423 votes.
Voter turnout nationally points to 19,231,164 of 28,525,638 voters having cast ballots, or 67.42 per cent.
The electoral results point to a Liberal minority government, with 172 seats required to form a majority government.
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