Chad Collins keeps Hamilton East-Stoney Creek in Liberal fold

Chad Collins has retained Hamilton East-Stoney Creek for the Liberals.

With 128 of 197 polls reported, Collins had 7,300 votes or 33. 7 per cent of the vote, overcoming Conservative Ned Kuruc, who had 6,098 votes (28.2 per cent) and New Democrat Nick Milanovic, with 6,073 votes (28.1 per cent).

I feel relieved and with every election win, it's a very humbling experience," the longtime city councillor said.

Outgoing Liberal MP Bob Bratina - a former mayor - made it an open race when he decided not to run again over his government's $1.7-billion funding commitment to Hamilton's LRT project.

Collins, who also has opposed LRT, filled the void when he was acclaimed as the Liberals' hopeful in mid-August.

I think we went into the campaign knowing that the margins traditionally can be very slim in this riding depending on the national level," he said Monday night.

The competition worked very hard" during the tight race, Collins said, adding he didn't expect a victory would come easy."

His long tenure on council - he was first elected in 1995 - also opened him up for attacks from rivals during a short but intense campaign.

During the televised debate, NDP candidate Milanovic assailed Collins and council for keeping under wraps for several months the full scope of a 24-billion-litre, four-and-a-half-year sewage leak into Chedoke Creek and Cootes Paradise.

Conservative competitor Kuruc, meanwhile, questioned how effectively he'd serve constituents given his position on LRT - like Bratina's - was at odds with the party and failed to gain traction with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.

Monday night, Collins said his familiarity with Ward 5 constituents helped sway undecided voters but noted he had a tougher time outside his municipal territory.

He'll leave city hall with really mixed emotions," Collins said. But I took on this challenge because I wanted to serve in a higher capacity and work on the same issues that I work on at city council at a higher level."

For this pandemic election, 3,118 mail-in ballots were requested for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, representing a fair number of votes that could start to be counted Tuesday.

Larry Pattison carried the Greens' banner in the riding and Mario Ricci ran for the People's Party of Canada.

The NDP and Liberals have waged a tug of war in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek over the years.

In 2019, Milanovic, a lawyer and Carleton University law professor, came second to Bratina, who won with a margin of just over 5,000 votes.

Four years earlier, the former mayor and broadcaster took the riding from New Democrat Wayne Marston, who was first elected in 2006.

Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com