Liberals say harassing phone calls hit voters in 27 ridings

The Liberal Party of Canada this afternoon identified 27 ridings in which it says voters received harassing or threatening phone calls ahead of the general election on May 2, 2011.

Now, in these ridings, the incumbent candidate or party won 21 of 27. In six of these races, the winner won by less than 1,000 votes.

Now, as one of my Twitter followers, an unidentified southern Ontario tweep who goes by the handle revpaperboy , noted “who won the ridings is immaterial, voter suppression by fraud is still antidemocratic and despicable,” a point with which I am in 100 per cent agreement. Still, for your consideration and to put some of this robocall debate in context, here is an annotated list of the ridings identified by the Liberals:

1. Sydney — Victoria (NS) Liberal incumbent Mark Eyking squeaked out a win 14,788 to 14,023 to Conserative challenger Cecil Clark. In 2008, Eyking smoked the competition, getting nearly as many votes himself as all other candidates combined. Here are the results going back to 2004.
2. Egmont (PE) — Conservative incumbent and cabinet minister Gail Shea easily won with 55 per cent of all votes cast, besting her nearest competitor, Liberal Guy Gallant, by 4,400 votes. Shea got 44 per cent of the votes in 2008. Here are the results.
3. Eglington — Lawrence (ON) (sic – it’s actually Eglinton-Lawrence) Conservative challenger Joe Oliver beat former Liberal cabinet minister and long-time incumbent Joe Volpe on Oliver’s second try in this riding. Oliver got 4,000 votes more in 2011 than Volpe. In 2008, Volpe got about 2,000 votes more than Oliver. Here are the results.
4. Etobicoke Centre (ON)  – Liberal incumbent Borys Wrzesnewskyj lost a squeaker to Conservative challenger Ted Opitz by 26 votes with more than 52,000 votes cast. The Liberals won this by nearly 6,000 votes in 2008. Here are the results.
5. Guelph (ON) – This is the riding at the centre of the current robocall controversy. Incumbent Liberal Frank Valeriote held this seat by more than 6,000 votes out of nearly 60,000 votes cast. In 2008, Valeriote won by less than 2,000 votes. Here are the results.
6. Cambridge (ON) – Conservative Gary Goodyear won handily with 53 per cent of the vote compared to nearest challenger, a  New Democrat with 28 per cent. In 2008, Goodyear got 49 per cent while nearest challenger, a Liberal, got 23 per cent. Here are the results.
7. Hamilton East — Stoney Creek (ON) – New Democrat incumbent Wayne Marston held with 45 per cent of the vote. Conservative Brad Clark got 36 per cent. in 2008, Marston 41 per cent compared while Liberal Larry Di Ianni got 28 per cent. Here are the results.
8. Haldimand — Norfolk (ON) – Incumbent Conservative and cabinet minister Diane Finley easily won with with more votes — 25,655 — than her NDP and Liberal challengers combined. But in 2008, Finley won by about 4,000 votes over the second place Liberal. Here are the results.
9. Kitchener — Conestoga (ON) – Conservative incumbent Harold Albrecht won in a landslide with more votes — nearly 30,000 – than the other three candidates combined. In 2008, Albrecht did almost as well with 49.3 per cent of the vote. Here are the results.
10. Kitchener – Waterloo (ON) – Conservative incumbent Peter Braid got 27,039 votes and the second place Liberal, former MP Andrew Telegdi got 24,895. In 2004, Braid beat Telegdi by just 17 votes. Here are the results.
11. London North Centre (ON) – Liberal incumbent Glen Pearson was defeated by first-time Conservative challenger Susan Truppe. Truppe got 19,468 votes. Pearson was second with 17,803 votes. In 2008, Pearson beat the second-place Conservative by 3,300 votes. Here are the results.
12. London West (ON) – Conservative incumbent Ed Holder won by more than 10,000 votes over his Liberal and NDP challengers who nearly tied for second with about 16,000 votes each. In 2008, Holder beat Liberal incumbent Sue Barnes by about 2,000 votes. Here are the results.
13. Mississauga East — Cooksville (ON) – With no incumbent running (Liberal Albina Guarnieri had retired after becoming the longest-serving female MP ever), Conservative Wladyslaw Lizon edged out Liberal candidate Peter Fonseca by 676 votes with more than 47,000 votes cast. In 2008, Guarnieri easily held the riding with 50 per cent of the vote. Here are the results.
14. Niagara Falls (ON) – Conservative candidate and cabinet minister Rob Nicholson has held this riding going back to 2004 and did again in 2011 with 53 per cent of the vote. He got 47 per cent of the vote in 2008. Here are the results.
15. Oakville (ON) – Conservative incumbent Terence Young got 52 per cent of the vote. Nearest challenger, a Liberal, got 31 per cent. In 2008, Young beat Liberal incumbent Bonnie Brown by about 5,500 votes. Here are the results.
16. Ottawa Orleans (ON) – Conservative incumbent Royal Galipeau won by 3,900 votes over the second-place Liberal. In 2008, he beat former Liberal MP Marc Godbout by nearly 3,700 votes. Here are the results.
17. Ottawa West — Nepean (ON) – Conservative incumbent and high-profile cabinet minister John Baird won by 7,400 votes over first-time Liberal challenger Anita Vandenbeld. In 2008, beat Liberal David Pratt (who was the incumbent going into the 2006 election) by 4,948 votes. Here are the results.
18. Parkdale – High Park (ON) – New Democrat Peggy Nash beat Liberal incumbent Gerard Kennedy by more than 7,200 votes. In 2008, Kennedy beat Nash who was the incumbent in that fight by 3,300 votes. Here are the results.
19. Perth – Wellington (ON) – Conservative incumbent Gary Schellenberger won with 55 per cent of the vote.  He got 48 per cent in 2008, 46 per cent. Here are the results.
20. Simcoe – Grey (ON) – First-time Conservative candidate Kellie Leitch won with no incumbent running. The Conservatives, though, had held this riding for a few elections with a candidate named Helena Guergis. Leitch beat her nearest challenger, a New Democrat, by more than 20,000 votes. Guergis, running as an independent, finished third. The Liberal finished fourth. In 2008, Guergis smoked all comers with 55 per cent of the vote. Here are the results.
21. St. Catharines (ON) – Conservative incumbent Rick Dykstra won bymore than15,000 votes. In 2008, he beat former Liberal MP Walt Lastewka by more than 8,800 votes. Here are the results.
22. St. Paul’s (ON) – Liberal incumbent Carolyn Bennett won by 4,500 votes. In 2008, she won by more than 12,000. Here are the results.
23. Sudbury (ON) – New Democrat incumbent Glenn Thibeault won by more than 9,800. The Conservatives finished second and the Liberals a distant third. In 2008, Thibeault became the first New Democrat to win this riding in a federal election beating Liberal incumbent Diane Marleau by more than 2,000 votes. Here are the results.
24. Wellington – Halton Hills (ON) – Conservative incumbent Michael Chong won in a landslide with 64 per cent of the vote. In 2008, he dominated as well with 58 per cent of the vote. Here are the results.
25. Willowdale (ON) – Conservative challenger Chungsen Leung beat incumbent and former Liberal leadership candidate Martha Hall Findlay by 932 votes out of 53,259 cast. In 2008, Hall Findlay won by nearly 8,000 votes.  Here are the results.
26. Saint Boniface (MB) – Conservative incumbent Shelly Glover got 50 per cent of the vote on May 2, compared to 46 per cent in 2008. Here are the results.
27. Winnipeg South Centre (MB)- Liberal incumbent Anita Neville lost to Conservative challenger Joyce Bateman, 15,506 (38.8%) to 14,784 (37%), a difference of 722 votes. In 2008 won by 2,300 votes. Here are the results.