At the Val Caron campaign office of Nickel Belt Liberal candidate Marc Serré, there was the usual quiet excitement that comes from a campaign for a successful incumbent waiting on his third consecutive victory.
Serré who was first elected to the House of Commons in 2015 and again in 2019, was showing the confidence of a local politician who knows what it is to win.
Serré defeated NDP incumbent Claude Gravelle in 2015 with more than 21,000 votes compared with Gravelle’s 18,556. Serré took another victory in 2019 with more than 19,000 votes. His nearest challenge, NDPer Stef Paquette had 15,656.
With less than a hour before the polls were closing, Serré was smiling and greeting campaign workers in the Val Caron office as well as keeping tabs on workers and volunteers through a television live link with the Serré office in Sturgeon Falls.
Serré and his wife, Lynn Loiselle Serré, were seen smiling and laughing with the out-town-campaigners on the large screen television. Even as he wore a pandemic mask, you could tell he was smiling most of the evening by his eyes.
This has not been the easiest campaign for Serré, especially with a bizarre situation in the past week where he was confronted by a person in his constituency office, shouting and pushing a table at him.
The campaign was also confronted by several instances of campaign signs being damaged. Serré added that many of his workers faced intimidation, and less than courteous language on social media.
Serré said being in a mostly rural riding has had the benefit of allowing to meet more people in smaller settings and especially in campaigning door to door.
“There have been some rough moments, but mostly it has been a positive campaign. That was our plan all along,” Serré said with just minutes before the polls were closed.
He admitted he was a bit nervous, maybe just election night jitters, but for the most part he was pleased with the campaign.
Serré added he was anxious to see the results of the more than 17,000 votes cast in the advanced polling for Nickel Belt as well as roughly 2,500 mail in votes.
