New Democrat Carol Hughes was pleasantly surprised when CTV News indicated early Monday night she was headed for a clear victory in Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing riding.
The network election broadcast made that call less than half an hour after the polls closed at 9:30 p.m.
At the time official Elections Canada results showed her with a 400 vote lead over second place Liberal Duke Peltier, with just 15 of the riding's polls reporting results.
Reflecting on the brief campaign, Hughes told ElliotLakeToday, "It was really good at the doors. You know, people were still very supportive and very pleased at the work that I had been doing."
At the same time, she strongly believes that every vote counts.
"The amount of votes that individuals get plays a huge role in gauging support. It certainly makes a huge difference for the parties to know the final results.
"When I look at the work that has been done, when I look at where the riding has come, in 2017 we were in the top of the funding announcements across Canada for the Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing riding.
"There's been a lot of funding that's been coming in. We always want more, of course. But I also made sure that the voices of the people in A-M-K were heard in parliament
"I've been able to do quite a bit. I've achieved quite a bit, whether it's been in infrastructure whether it's been fixing the casework.
"Certainly I have had a great team, and the volunteers that we have tonight, they were fabulous. I can't thank them enough for the work that they've done, for the work that my staff has done and will continue to do."
Hughes will go back to a House of Commons dominated by Liberals where once again she and her fellow NDP MP's will face Liberals in the government seats.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was projected as the winning party leader by many media outlets before 10:30 p.m.
Throughout the vote counting in Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing Monday night, Hughes lead the polls. Peltier ran second and Conservative candidate John Sagman was third.
