The Ottawa riding Nepean has been held by the same Progressive Conservative representative, Lisa MacLeod, for 19 years. On election day on Feb. 27, Nepean voters revealed a change of heart and voted in Liberal candidate Tyler Watt.
A few weeks later, Watt said the news is “just starting to feel real” as he prepares to be sworn in to the Queen’s Park legislature.
He grew up in Nepean, attending Cedarview Middle School at a time when “it was surrounded by farms,” not housing developments and construction. Prior to entering politics, he also worked in the community as a registered nurse, and he says the lessons and challenges he saw in the healthcare system motivated him to run for public office.
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“Everyone has a health care story. Whether they don’t have a family doctor, they’ve been on the wait list for over five years, or maybe they recently had to use the hospital, or have a loved one who’s going through the system,” Watt told Ottawa Compass. “Everyone has a health care story. And that’s my bread and butter.”
Watt also ran in the 2022 election and came in second behind MacLeod. But MacLeod announced in September that she would not be seeking re-election, leaving her seat open and the PC’s hold on the riding up for grabs.
While door-knocking in 2022, Watt said he felt that some people were getting ready for a change in representation, a sentiment that was amplified this time around.
“Regardless of what was going to happen, we knew there was going to be change, but Nepean is special in the sense that people are really proud to live here, and people want someone who is going to champion them at Queen’s Park,” he said. “So, my biggest strategy at the door was giving people hope.
“I didn’t talk about Doug Ford. I didn’t talk about the conservatives. I introduced myself, why I’m running, and asked them what they care about,” Watt continued. “I wanted to leave every door with a positive interaction, because what I felt and learned from 2022 is that the best motivator to get someone out to vote was to get them excited and inspired to vote for someone rather than vote against someone.”
John O’Leary, a liberal strategist, said there are a few reasons the Liberals were able to flip the riding — and one of them is Watt’s strength as a local candidate.
“Tyler worked hard, in the leadup to the 2022 election and in the years since,” O’Leary told Ottawa Compass. “He and his team were ready for the election because they had put in the time to learn the riding, connect with voters and be a consistent, positive presence.”
There were a few other factors at play, too, O’Leary says. For one, by not seeking re-election, MacLeod opened the seat up for change.
“[MacLeod] held the riding since 2006 and had previously worked for the popular MPP and MP in Nepean-Carleton John Baird,” he said. “The departure of a longtime incumbent often gives voters permission to take a wider view of what they might want in an MPP.”
But he also notes that while Watt might have benefitted from the lack of an incumbent, his close finish in 2022 “suggests he might have been able to overcome MacLeod too.”
Additionally, the NDP and Green Party have largely fallen from focus in Nepean, leaving the Liberals to emerge as the clear choice for voters who are choosing not to vote PC.
Finally, the Liberal Party’s hold on the Ottawa region could have supported Watt’s campaign, O’Leary said. With Nepean, the Liberals now hold five of Ottawa’s eight ridings, with the others split between the NDP and PCs.
Watt won 48 per cent of the vote, with his opponents split between the PCs (38 per cent) and the others, with the NDP picking up only 9 per cent.
“I went into this election day at peace with whatever was going to happen,” said Watt. “I felt that it was going to be close, but I certainly didn’t expect our results — winning by almost 5000 votes.”
At Queen’s Park, Watt said he’s excited to “champion” Nepean, advocating for progress and growth, including issues like public safety, the Barnsdale interchange, the expansion of roads like Prince of Wales, public transit, education and, of course, healthcare.
He said he’s also excited to “be a good listener” and learn how he can help small businesses and advocate for every resident in Nepean.
“It was nice to see Premier Ford finally acknowledge Ottawa in this previous election. He made some promises…to do with the LRT and getting Ottawa its fair share,” he said. “So I will be one of those people there holding his feet to the fire.
“But ultimately, at the end of the day, I don’t care what party anyone is from. I want us all to work together so we can accomplish things and make sure that Ottawa and Nepean are taken care of.”
