What has changed in Waterloo Region, Guelph, Brant and the surrounding areas after the federal election?

CTV's Alexandra Holyk takes a closer look at the changes in Waterloo Region and surrounding areas after the federal election.

It was a night of celebration for some and disappointment for others as the votes for the 2025 federal election rolled in Monday night.

Mark Carney’s Liberals held on to power, earning enough seats to form a minority government.

In the Waterloo Region, Guelph and Brant County areas, many incumbents reclaimed their seats, but the Conservatives flipped a few ridings blue.

Green uprooted

Ontario’s only Green Party MP lost his seat Tuesday morning.

The Kitchener Centre riding stayed close throughout the night, with the count continuing into the early morning hours.

At 12:50 a.m., the CTV News Decision Desk announced Conservative candidate Kelly DeRidder had defeated former Green MP Mike Morrice.

Morrice was first elected in 2021 and served as the Green Party of Canada’s critic for housing and disability inclusion.

DeRidder is a senior project manager at Rockwell Automation and a part-time professor at Conestoga College.

By 1 a.m., with 96.2 per cent of polls reporting, she had claimed 18,769 votes compared to Morrice’s 17,699

Shortly after the decision was announced, Morrice appeared before his supporters and thanked them for their unwavering faith in him. He said he had already called DeRidder and congratulated her.

“I’m so grateful that our community gave me this incredible privilege – in fact, gave our entire team this incredible privilege these last three-and-a-half years to serve as a Green, which means doing it in a way that holds our community first and foremost,” he said while speaking to his supporters.

He said he was proud of being able to help highlight voices that needed to be heard in Parliament.

“We got to do it with some decency, we got to do it by sharing some credit and getting things done with other people and we got to do it with some respectfulness and showed them when we do it that way, wow can we get things done for people in our community,” Morrice said to a round applause from the assembled crowd.

“This has been a privilege of a lifetime,” he said.

Cambridge goes Conservative

Meanwhile, the Conservatives gained ground in Cambridge.

At 11:30 p.m. Monday, the CTV News Decision Desk declared Connie Cody had defeated Liberal rival Bryan May to claim the riding.

May was first elected as an MP in 2015.

Last time May and Cody went head-to-head, May came out on top with 20,866 votes to Cody’s 18,876.

This time around, it was a reversal of fortunes, with Cody earning 28,378 votes just before midnight with 94.4 per cent of polls reporting. By that time, May had 26,344 votes.

“I am very happy and very grateful to the people of Cambridge and North Dumfries for trusting in me,” Cody said after her win was announced.

“I first of all want to congratulate Bryan May for a job well done for his tenure here and I appreciate that he phoned me and congratulated me on the win,” she said.

“The community is my heart and my soul. I grew up here and it means a lot to me and I’m just really happy that I can represent the community and have the support of the community,” Cody said.

Meanwhile, it was a very different feel at May’s election headquarters.

“Look, this was a tough election,” May said while addressing his supporters Monday night. “It’s been a tough couple years. And I would not be here, we would not be this close right now without each and every one of you,” he said.

“[It was] absolutely the most amazing experience of my life to serve this community, to serve each and every one of you, to serve everyone of this community regardless of if they voted for me or not,” he added.

Kitchener South-Hespeler elects Strauss

The Conservatives also gained ground in Kitchener South-Hespeler where Matt Strauss defeated Liberal Rival Valerie Bradford.

It was a tight race, with the CTV News Decision Desk making the call at 1:25 a.m. Tuesday.

Bradford was elected in 2021.

Strauss is a critical care specialist who made headlines in the past due to his highly critical views on lockdowns as public health measures.

“Canada’s facing multiple crises – the fact that the people of my hometown asked me to take the responsibility of taking their concerns to Ottawa at a time like this – it’s a crushing amount of gratitude that I feel right now,” Strauss said in an interview with CTV News.

O’Rourke takes over for Longfield in Guelph

A longtime MP has handed over the reins to the next generation Monday night.

Former Liberal MP Lloyd Longfield announced he would not be running in the federal election in June 2023. Instead, the Liberals put forward Dominque O’Rourke, a city councillor.

O’Rourke announced she was taking a leave of absence from Guelph City Council from March 23 until April 30 to pursue federal politics.

By 11 p.m., the CTV News Decision Desk declared the people of Guelph had decided to stick with the Liberals and send her to Parliament Hill.

Her seat at city council will now be vacated as she steps into her new role.

Incumbents re-elected

Many incumbent MPs were re-elected by voters Monday night including Conservative Larry Brock in Brantford-Brant South-Six Nations, Conservative Dan Muys in Flamborough-Glanbrook-Brant North, Conservative Leslyn Lewis in Haldimand-Norfolk, Conservative Ben Lobb in Huron-Burce, Conservative Arpan Khanna in Oxford, Conservative John Nater in Perth-Wellington, Liberal Bardish Chagger in Waterloo, Liberal Tim Louis in Kitchener-Conestoga and Conservative Michael Chong in Wellington-Halton Hills North.