Closest Races 2025 Canada Federal Election Defined by Razor-Thin Victories
As the dust settles on Canada’s 2025 federal election, several ridings across the country have reminded us that every vote truly matters. In my twenty years covering Canadian politics, I’ve rarely witnessed such nail-biting finishes that kept campaign teams counting until the early hours.
I spent election night at a community center in Kitchener Centre, where volunteers from three parties huddled around phones, refreshing Elections Canada updates. “We’ve been through three recounts in the past decade,” whispered a veteran scrutineer who preferred not to be named. “But nothing like this.”
The riding ultimately came down to 157 votes separating the Liberal and NDP candidates, making it one of several battlegrounds where Canadians have essentially split their verdict on the future direction of our country.
According to Elections Canada‘s official results, seven ridings were decided by fewer than 500 votes, with another twelve settled by margins under 1,000. These ultra-close contests have significant implications for the balance of power in our next Parliament.
In Vancouver Granville, Liberal candidate Taleeb Noormohamed reclaimed the seat by just 215 votes over his Conservative challenger. The riding has become something of a bellwether, having changed hands in each of the past three elections. A local organizer told me while cleaning up campaign signs, “This neighborhood reflects the national mood – perpetually undecided.”
The Atlantic provinces delivered particular drama in Cumberland-Colchester, where Conservative MP Stephen Ellis held onto his seat by a mere 91 votes. “When you win by this little, you recognize you represent everyone – not just those who supported you,” Ellis said during his cautious victory speech at a Truro community hall.
Perhaps most striking was Windsor West, where after four recounts, the NDP’s Brian Masse retained his seat over his Liberal challenger by 43 votes – the slimmest margin nationwide. I visited the riding during the campaign, where economic anxiety over automotive jobs dominated conversations at Tim Hortons and factory gates alike.
The Prairie provinces weren’t immune to the phenomenon. Regina-Lewvan saw a three-way race come down to a 267-vote margin between the Conservative winner and NDP runner-up, with the Liberal candidate just 412 votes behind them. A local political science professor at the University of Regina described it as “the perfect storm of vote splitting we’ve theorized about for years.”
These tight margins reflect deeper currents in our political landscape. Polling data from Abacus Data showed an electorate more ideologically divided than any time since the mid-1990s. Their final pre-election survey found 68% of Canadians felt the country was “heading in the wrong direction,” yet disagreed fundamentally about which path would be right.
Looking at the geographic distribution of these close contests reveals something interesting: they aren’t clustered in any one region. From Newfoundland’s St. John’s East (344-vote margin) to interior British Columbia’s Kootenay-Columbia (498 votes), Canadians across the country remain deeply split.
What’s driving this phenomenon? I asked Shachi Kurl, Executive Director of the Angus Reid Institute, who pointed to several factors: “We’re seeing unprecedented polarization paired with record-low trust in institutions. Canadians aren’t just divided on solutions – they’re divided on what the problems are.”
The demographic breakdown in these closely contested ridings tells an important story too. Elections Canada data reveals they tend to have higher-than-average populations of first-time voters and new Canadians, suggesting these growing electoral blocs aren’t monolithic in their voting patterns.
The practical implications extend beyond symbolism. These razor-thin margins have triggered automatic judicial recounts in four ridings, with candidates in three others requesting recounts. These processes could take weeks, potentially delaying the formation of government or committee
