Perth–Wellington voters are sending Conservative John Nater back to Ottawa for a third term as their member of parliament.
With 183 of 205 polls reporting, Nater held 49 per cent of the popular vote on Monday night, finishing ahead of Liberal Brendan Knight, New Democrat Kevin Kruchkywich and People's Party candidate Wayne Baker.
In a telephone interview, Nater thanked voters for "putting their trust" in him.
"It's an honour and it's something I take seriously," Nater said, speaking from the Mitchell Golf Course where he celebrated the win with a small group of supporters.
With 22 polls left to be counted, results showed Nater had increased his share of the popular vote by three percentage points over 2019 when captured 46 per cent of the vote.
He said he hopes the strong mandate given to him by constituents is "a reflection of the work I put into this position over the past nearly six years."
"I've always been focused on what I can do for local communities," he continued.
Heading into a third term, Nater said he plans to focus on the issues he heard on the doorstep during the campaign.
"Issues of affordability, housing, labour market issues, rural issues, rural broadband, a lot of these things are going to be things that I'll be pushing and highlighting once we return to Ottawa later this year," he said.
The riding of Perth–Wellington has consistently been held by the Conservatives since it was first contested in 2004. Nater has been the representative since 2015 when he succeeded fellow Tory Gary Schellenberger.
Liberal Brendan Knight finished second with 24 per cent of the popular vote, sliding slightly from 2019 when the Liberals secured 27 per cent of the local electorate.
In a telephone interview, the political staffer said he was proud of the campaign he and his volunteers ran.
"I know we didn't quite get the result that we wanted," Knight said. "But I'm appreciative of all the support given tonight."
As for whether he's planning run to run again in the next federal election, Knight said he'll decide that at a later date.
"Right now, I'm just planning for my third kid to be born," he said.
With 22 polls left to be counted, New Democrat Kevin Kruchkywich had 19 per cent of the vote. People's Party candidate Wayne Baker had 10 per cent.
