Member of Parliament-elect Chris Malette thanks his wife Sandi Wight for encouraging him to run in the 2025 federal election. /Sarah Hyatt
Bay of Quinte has chosen a new MP with Chris Malette taking home the win for the Liberals in the 2025 federal election.
Malette has vowed to prioritize protecting Canada’s sovereignty and jobs, to name just a few of the items on his immediate to-do list as he plans to make his way to Ottawa.
Malette – who served the region for decades as a former journalist and editor, as well as a Belleville city councillor – secured the win for the Liberals after a tight race with Conservative incumbent Ryan Williams.
Surrounded by supporters – who had flooded Sans-Souci in Belleville hours before Malette’s win would be declared – Malette delivered a moving victory speech packed with heartfelt thanks to his family, team and supporters, while also promising bold action to come on election night.
When it came time to deliver his winning speech, the polls had closed at least four hours prior.
“If you would’ve told me two months ago that I would be standing right here, right now, as your next Member of Parliament … honest to God,” Malette started to tell the crowd before cheers and chants erupted and filled the room at Sans-Souci.
And then there were more cheers and applause.
With 222 of 223 polls reporting – representing 99.5 per cent – Malette secured 50.4 per cent of the vote versus Williams’ 44.6 per cent. Combined, the two captured nearly 61,000 of the 64,115 valid votes counted, according to Elections Canada’s preliminary results.
Of those 64,000-plus votes, Malette secured 32,328, and Williams 28,626, while NDP candidate Kate Crothers took home 2,343 (3.7 per cent) votes and Erica Charlton won 818 of the votes (1.3 per cent.)
For Malette, the Liberals’ win was a clear message that “we are ‘#CanadaStrong.”
He’s also vowed to get to work in Ottawa right away.
“I’ve had the honour of representing the people of Belleville on city council, and I’m genuinely sad to be leaving that role, but my commitment to the community does not for one minute cease because I’ll be working in Ottawa and not right here in the City of Belleville,” Malette also promised supporters. “I will always be representing the people here in the Bay of Quinte – from Belleville to Trenton, (to) Picton and Wellington, (and) to Batawa and Frankford.”
Malette also highlighted how he felt about the Liberal Party and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s win with a powerful message on an international scale.
“Canada stands for community – Canada stands up against divisiveness – and Canada stands together #CanadaStrong,” continued Malette, who also acknowledged his triumph wasn’t his alone to share.
Earlier in the night, Malette told MBC about a relentless team of volunteers.
“This is a team unlike any that I have ever seen in all my years covering politics as a journalist and taking part in election campaigns – you’re all amazing and my heartfelt thanks goes out to each and every one of you,” said Malette again later in the evening.
He, of course, also gave thanks to his wife Sandi Wight, his daughters Nicole and Rachelle, campaign co-chairs Bruce Knutson and Taylor Russett, and many more.
When debating whether to jump into the race, Malette shared how it was Wight who gave him the courage to leap and take his first run into federal politics.
“Our campaign has come to a close, but our work together is just getting started and I can’t wait to get to Ottawa,” said a visibly emotional Malette, as he started to wrap up his winning speech.
“This is our victory, and this is a victory for Canada. I promise to make you all proud and will continue to work for you, for everyone in the Bay of Quinte.
“I stand here a grateful man who could never have imagined such love, dedication and hard work from the people in this room. And I mean this from the bottom of my soul.”
For Williams, the night didn’t bring the result he and his team had hoped for after first securing the MP’s seat in the 2021 election from now Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis. Like Malette, Williams is also a former Belleville city councillor who was elected in 2018.
Earlier in the night, Chris told media: “Ryan is a friend,” just before his declaration and making calls to area candidates.
Williams, who was over at the Local Social House watching results come in with his family and supporters, trekked over to the Liberal camp at Sans-Souci to concede around 1:30 a.m. Malette greeted him, and they shared a private moment outside and shook hands.
“It was a hard-fought battle – look, there’s a bunch of things that are happening in the country,” Williams told MBC. “The NDP collapsed. We had a strong third-party government here and they’re gone.
“But look, at the end of the day, I’ll give a lot of credit to Chris and to the Liberals and they have a hard-fought victory and congratulations to them.
“We had a big team and I’m just proud of them,” continued Williams. “I’m proud of my wife and my kids and family, who were all part of this big journey, because it is a lot, a lot of sacrifice (and) it’s a lot of work, so at the end of the day, I’m very proud of my time representing this region in Parliament and wish Chris all the best.
“At the end of the day, (in) politics, my father used to say don’t ever run in an election you don’t expect to lose,” shared Williams. “You put yourself out there, and it’s up to the voters, so I’m very proud of our team and what we did, I’m proud of my time in Ottawa and obviously not the result we wanted, but I’ll have some fond memories.”
When asked if he may try again in the future, Williams responded: “We’ll have lots of soul searching to do in the next couple weeks.”
According to Elections Canada, initial reports put voter turnout at more than 68 per cent in the riding (and this doesn’t include electors who registered on election day.)
Malette also said he believes the nation is in solid hands with Carney’s win.
Stay tuned. We’ll have more in-depth election coverage coming your way.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
