The Liberal candidate in Windsor-Tecumseh has officially retained his seat in Ottawa.
At around 8 p.m., Wednesday night, Elections Canada reported that mail-in or special ballots were still being counted in the riding, keeping the race between Liberal Incumbent Irek Kusmierczyk and NDP challenger Cheryl Hardcastle too close to call.
Just before midnight, Elections Canada confirmed all mail-in ballots had been counted which determined Kusmierczyk as the official winner. Kusmierczyk received 31.8 per cent of the vote, a 675-vote lead over Hardcastle.
Earlier Wednesday evening, Elections Canada data showed incumbent Kusmierczyk maintained a tight lead over Hardcastle in Monday's federal election. With all 244 of the Windsor-Tecumseh polls reporting, Kusmierczyk held a 603-vote advantage, an increase over the most recent count early Tuesday morning.
In comparison, 95 per cent of special ballots were counted at that time in both Windsor West and Essex. No special ballots in Chatham-Kent-Leamington were recorded either.
Kusmierczyk, while thanking supporters late Monday night at an east Windsor restaurant, did not declare victory and expressed optimism that the campaign would emerge victoriously.
The riding was a nailbiter during the 2019 federal campaign when the incumbent Hardcastle lost to Kusmierczyk by 629 votes.
With all election day polls reporting, Conservative Kathy Borrelli polled 25.7 per cent of the vote for third place. Victor Green of the People's Party of Canada collected 10.4 per cent.
Rounding out the field was Green Party candidate Henry Oulevey with 1.2 per cent, and Marxist-Leninist Laura Chesnik with 0.3 per cent.
The Liberals were returned to Parliament Monday night with 158 seats and a minority government. The Conservatives got 119 seats to remain the Official Opposition. The Bloc Quebecois took 34 seats, and the NDP kept fourth-party status with 25 seats.