PPC played smaller role in local outcome than expected, professor says

In the lead-up to the federal election, there were concerns among Conservatives that votes for the People's Party of Canada could cut into the party's support — and seat count — but one expert says the PPC made less of an impact locally than she expected.

Lydia Miljan, a political science professor at the University of Windsor, noted that all of the Conservative incumbents were re-elected in Windsor-Essex and beyond in Monday's vote.

"I did see a lot of [PPC] signs in the county, both in Essex but also in the Chatham area … but in our area, really from Essex all the way to London, it continued to stick with Conservative support," she said.

In Windsor–Tecumseh, PPC candidate Victor Green captured 11 per cent of the vote — more than 5,800 votes, according to the most recent results available on Tuesday evening.

In that riding, if Conservative Kathy Borrelli had received her share of the vote — 26 per cent — along with that of Green, she would have defeated Liberal Irek Kusmierczyk, who is projected to narrowly win his seat with 32 per cent of the vote.

Support for the party's candidate in Windsor West, Matthew Giancola, was at nine per cent or nearly 4,000 votes — not enough to affect the outcome either way if it were transferred to the Conservatives. NDP MP Brian Masse is projected to win an eighth term.

In Essex, Beth Charron-Rowberry received nearly 6,800 votes, or 10 per cent of all the ballots cast in the riding, though incumbent Conservative Chris Lewis still won by a margin of nearly 6,300 votes.