By Jacob Fehr
FOR Haldimand-Norfolk Liberal Party of Canada candidate Colin Walsh and his supporters, the local result of last week’s federal election wasn’t what they wanted. Mr. Walsh finished second to incumbent and Conservative Party of Canada candidate Leslyn Lewis with 26,040 votes, or 36.4 per cent of local voters’ support, compared to her 41,218 votes, or 57.6 per cent of constituents’ ballots.
On election night, April 28, Mr. Walsh hosted a gathering for supporters at his team’s campaign office in downtown Simcoe as polling results poured in. He greeted all attendees, fetched everyone a drink of their choice, and pushed pizza and snacks on everyone in the room like he was hosting a house party or backyard barbecue. The atmosphere was amicable, intimate, and anxious.
The roughly two dozen supporters in the room chatted excitedly for over an hour after the final polls closed at 9:30 p.m., with most watching CBC’s live election coverage on a TV at the front.
Among them were Mr. Walsh’s family, including his parents, wife, and children. Alongside the supporters was a small cohort of stray reporters with nowhere else to be as Dr. Lewis excluded media from attending her campaign event.
Early in the evening, Mr. Walsh told attendees that he planned to run for office again regardless of the result that night. He was eager to see the polls and confident in the quality of his team’s campaign.
His father and official agent, Roy Walsh, was happy to tell attendees about his son. He beamed with pride and occasionally bellowed with laughter as he shared stories about the younger Mr. Walsh’s youth, discussing his love of sports and music.
“Whenever he had the opportunity to help people, he did,” the senior Mr. Walsh said.
The room quieted as the local election outcome appeared clear close to 11 p.m. One could hear Mr. Walsh mulling the decision to give his concession speech. Shortly after 11 p.m., half an hour or so after CBC called Haldimand-Norfolk for Dr. Lewis, he addressed his supporters.
“Not the speech I wanted to give, but at least we’re doing well,” he said, referring to the Liberals’ then-projected national victory.
“Although tonight’s result was not what we hoped for—though it is nationally—I’m filled with pride, gratitude, and optimism about what we’ve accomplished here together.”
He thanked and praised the volunteers, staff, friends, family, and other supporters who contributed to his run for office, telling them, “We ran this campaign the right way, with integrity, honesty, [and] fairness.”
Reiterating his prior commitment, he reminded the room that this was the beginning of his foray into local federal politics, and he plans to run again.
“And then I get to read the other speech,” he said.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve built together and I look forward to continuing to work together in the coming months.”
Following his speech, a supporter said loudly enough for the room to hear, “We’ll be back in four years,” to which another replied, “Yes we will!”
Mr. Walsh symbolically ripped up his concession speech and said he hoped never to need it again.
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Originally published May 7, 2025
