Meet Bruce Fanjoy, the man who unseated Pierre Poilievre in his riding of Carleton

It’s spring on the shorelines of the Rideau River in Manotick and buds are starting to appear on the trees. In AY Jackson Park, a row of daffodils are starting to poke through the green grass. It’s a season of transformation, and it’s not the only change that’s happening. 

On Monday, Carleton residents were glued to their television screens wondering what the results would be in the rural riding of Carleton. Polling projections on 338Canada showed a 10 per cent lead for incumbent MP and Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, but some internal projections showed Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy trending upward with only about a five per cent difference. 

Could the riding that’s been Conservative since 2004 actually cross political lines? The Liberals came close in 2025 with candidate Chris Rogers, who only lost by about three per cent, but the party failed to make up much ground in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. 

But Liberals in the area believed it would be different this time around. Results throughout the night continued to show Fanjoy slightly ahead. At the Liberal Party headquarters on election night, Nepean MPP Tyler Watt, who took that riding from the Progressive Conservatives during the recent provincial election, told me he could feel a similar change happening in Carleton while knocking on doors with Fanjoy. 

Fanjoy ended up winning the race with 43,900 total votes, taking a narrow majority of 50.8 per cent. Poilievre came in second with 39,585 votes, or 45.8 per cent. 

The news was a shock to Conservative voters who thought this could never happen. Some blamed the new electoral boundaries, which took in parts of Kanata, which they said tended to vote Liberal. Others blamed the 91 names on the ballot — mostly made up of independent candidates who were part of the “Longest Ballot Committee" which was pushing for electoral reform. But it’s important to note that only about 1.2 per cent of votes went to the independents. 

The Liberals blamed Poilievre for his own demise. Fanjoy said he hadn’t been seen much in the riding. There was also support for the so-called “freedom” trucker convoy in 2022, and the “Canada is broken” rhetoric spewed through the election. 

In Manotick on Wednesday, I met with Fanjoy to hear about his election win and what Carleton residents can expect from their new MP. We met outside the Mill, and it quickly became obvious that people were excited to see him. Multiple people stopped to shake the Liberal's hand and say they voted for him. Later in the 692 coffee shop, a woman shrieked with joy when Fanjoy walked in. 

Answers have been edited for length and clarity. 

Lookout: It's been two days since your election win. How are you feeling and were you at all surprised by the results?

Fanjoy: I feel great. We knew that we could do this for a long time and we just worked hard. I had an amazing team of volunteers. Once the writ dropped, we had a small army of volunteers who stepped forward from within Carleton. 

People recognized how important this election was nationally, but also recognized how Carleton had a remarkable opportunity to do something special for Canada and I think that got people excited. 

You never know what's gonna happen on an election night, but we were confident that we were competitive and once numbers started coming in, it became apparent that we hit the mark. 

Lookout: The Liberals have been trying desperately to win over this riding. They came close in 2015 but it wasn’t meant to be. This has been a very Conservative riding both provincially and federally. What made this time different?

Fanjoy: Historically, the Conservative Party used to be a more progressive party, and I think they are very different today than they used to be. That made a lot of people uncomfortable and rightfully so. We won this because of progressive voters and moderate Conservatives who aimed together and decided they did not want divisive American-style politics to be represented here. 

I think that’s also true of Canadians, regardless of where they live — especially with the influence of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. There are an awful lot of people who don't want anything to do with that in Canada, but it requires people to stand up, participate in their democracy, and that's exactly what happened here in Carlton. 

Lookout: You were knocking on doors for I think two years. What did you hear and were there many people who said they normally vote Conservative but were voting Liberal this time?

Fanjoy: Over and over again that was a big factor. We heard from people who also supported the NDP or Green Party in the past, but could see the importance of this moment. 

Lookout: I’ve spoken to a lot of Conservatives in Carleton who never quite forgave Mr. Poilievre for supporting the trucker convoy. Did you hear about that issue at all?

Fanjoy: It was a big factor for traditional Conservative voters because they never thought that their MP would do something that was so actively hostile to our community. It affected businesses, it affected the economy because let's not forget that the convoy and the occupation weren't just about Ottawa; we had border blockades around the country. It was not one of our finer moments as a country, but we were moving beyond that. 

Lookout: The Liberals were hoping to get a majority government but instead got a relatively strong minority. Does that concern you at all that an election could be held before four years from now?

Fanjoy: I think Parliament needs to work together. Voters have chosen the representatives and this is a critical moment in our history. We need to stay strong against the Trump administration and then the tariffs, and also their threats to annex Canada. It’s utter nonsense, but it does require serious leaders to stand up and defend Canadian interests. 

We’ve got to defend our industries. We have to defend workers, families and individuals. This is not a time for partisan gamesmanship. It's a time when Canadians expect us to work together and that's exactly what we're gonna do. 

Lookout: Throughout the campaign, you said multiple times you thought you’d win because Mr. Poilievre hadn’t spent much time in the riding. What kind of politician can Carleton residents expect from you? 

Fanjoy: Well, first and foremost, my priority is to be a strong representative for Carleton. I want people to know that they have a representative who cares about them, cares about issues that matter to them, is listening to them and will advocate for them. 

Lookout: An easier question to end with. Where are some of your favourite places to go in Carleton?

Fanjoy: This is a hard question because it does end where I am in the riding and I have so many! But I do love coffee shops. In Manotick, you have 692 Coffee and Bar and Morning Owl. In Stittsville, you have Ritual on Main Cafe. In Riverside South, you have Annie’s. 

Questions remain over the future of the Conservative Party 

Immediately after it became evident that Poilievre was going to lose his seat, questions began to circulate over whether he'd stay on as Conservative Party leader. 

During his election night speech at the Rogers Centre in Downtown Ottawa, Poilievre said he was excited to get back to work, noting the fight wasn’t over. 

• The party did see some wins: It made gains in terms of seat numbers and popular vote. But so did the Liberals. On the negative, his approval ratings worsened throughout the campaign, unlike those of his previous predecessors Andrew Scheer and Erin O’Toole. 

Scheer was quick to offer his support to Poilievre and seemed to hint he should stay on as party leader. So did former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. 

Without a seat in Parliament, Poilievre would struggle to get his messaging out the same way he did in the past. There would be no more standing up in the House of Commons to ask or answer questions. Instead, he would need to watch the proceedings on television and then meet with journalists later in the hall. 

While a seat is not technically needed to be the leader of a party, it’s certainly encouraged with rules stating you act quickly to get one as soon as possible.

• Sources have told various news outlets that calls are already being made to find Poilievre a new seat — most likely in Alberta. What would happen then is a recently elected MP would need to resign and then a by-election would need to be called. If that did occur, it would be up to Prime Minister Mark Carney to call one — and he could wait upwards of six months. 

According to Press Progress, Poilievre will also need to move out of his taxpayer-funded Stornoway home, which has been home to the Leader of Official Opposition in the House of Commons since the 1950s. But because the party leader does not have a seat, he will no longer have that title. Another sitting Conservative member would need to hold that role instead.