Liberal candidate Ted Hsu clinched the Kingston and the Islands riding on Monday night. Hsu said his win is crucial in an election that saw the Conservative party gain a majority and the NDP oust the Liberals as the official opposition.

“Remember that Kingston and the Islands is an integral part of the great Liberal tradition that has helped shape Canada since 1867,” Hsu said to supporters at the Portsmouth Harbour restaurant late Monday. “Tonight we must prepare to stand all but alone. Tonight we must begin the process of rebuilding.”

Hsu won with 23,840 votes, totaling 39.3 per cent of the vote. His is the seventh consecutive Liberal win in the riding. Conservative candidate Alicia Gordon finished second with 21,189 votes, over 2,600 votes shy of Hsu. NDP candidate Daniel Beals finished third with Green Party candidate Eric Walton finishing fourth.

“I accept the responsibility for us not making it all the way,” Gordon said in her address to over 200 supporters at the Ambassador hotel.

The Kingston and the Islands riding saw a 63.3 per cent of registered voters come out to polling stations.

Supporters of Beals piled into the Toucan pub to await election results that saw the NDP candidate receive 21.5 per cent of the vote.

“I have mixed emotions. I feel determined. I’m ready to wake up tomorrow and get back to work,” Beals said, adding that he intends to stay in politics.

Beals said that while he respects the result in Kingston and the Islands, he is disappointed in Prime Minister Harper’s re-election.

“I don’t believe the government we have right now stands for equality or justice,” Beals said.

Walton saw about four per cent of the vote in Kingston in the Islands. He said he plans to take a break from politics.

“Maybe in four years I’ll be ready to run again,” Walton said.

After hearing word of party leader Elizabeth May’s election as the first Green MP, Walton said he’s excited about the party’s future.

“The silver lining in all of this is that with a majority, [the Conservatives] will take 100 per cent of the responsibility and then in four years there will be a significant correction,” Walton said. “It offers us a chance for more clarity.”

-with files from Clare Clancy, Jake Edmiston, Catherine Owsik and Savoula Stylianou