Liberals gather for quiet, post-election party; Ignatieff to stay on as leader

TORONTO, Ont. – The atmosphere was more like a funeral than a post-election party as a small crowd of Liberal supporters gathered at a downtown Toronto Sheraton Hotel for Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, but he told the crowd that he wouldn’t give up.

“They’ve inspired me since I was a young man. They will inspire me for the rest of my life, and I will play any part that the party wishes me to play as we go forward to rebuild, renew, to reform the vital centre of Canadian politics,” Ignatieff said to the small crowd at the downtown Sheraton Hotel, after it was announced that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives were elected to a majority government Monday night.

Canadian flags flanked the stage, Ignatieff signs were in place and noisemakers and campaign buttons were ready to go, but those in attendance were quiet, growing louder only as he wrapped up his concession speech.

“There was a longing for change, a yearning for change. We can be proud of the role we played in triggering that longing and desire for change. Unfortunately we could not be the beneficiaries of that longing for change.”

Many Liberal supporters at the event said they were utterly shocked to see the party effectively replaced by the New Democrats at the federal level. Canadian author Peter C. Newman, in attendance to do research as part of a book on Michael Ignatieff, told 680News that up until now, his working title was going to be “The Man who Would be Prime Minister.”

“When you look at modern Canada, this is the party that created our country, as it now exists, and to replicate that will take, I believe, several generations,” he said.

In the hours leading up to the results, supporters in attendance appeared nervous, waiting to see if a record voter turnout would translate into Liberal votes.

However, they soon had little to be happy about as Liberal numbers slipped significantly in the polls. Even Ignatieff lost in his own Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding.

Michelle appeared on the verge of tears as she watched the results come in.

“I voted for Michael Ignatieff so I’m very upset. I do hope he wins his riding, and I just think it’s just an upsetting experience right now as a voter, because I was hoping that they would get more numbers for the Liberal party, and they’re just not there,” she told 680News.

Others were already trying to figure out what went wrong with the election campaign. One man said the Conservative attack ads on Ignatieff clearly worked, but didn’t result in Conservative votes, rather sending people to support the NDP.

Anther long-time Liberal – a political scientist who worked on Ignatieff’s local campaign in Etobicoke-Lakeshore – called the election results “distressing,” and said she could not believe what she saw. She also does not see him staying on as leader of the Liberal party, despite the fact that he has said otherwise.

“If the party is going to do a major overhaul after this election, then one of the roles that needs to be looked at is the leader’s position, for sure,” she told 680News. “He should give it strong consideration.”

Many of those in attendance were sporting the red sneakers which Ignatieff made popular in the last few days of his campaign.

“The sneakers have sort of been a really fun sprint to the finish,” explained the party’s Amanda Alvara. “Michael Ignatieff did 13 ridings in the last two days. Everywhere he went, he took the sneakers with him. He gave them to the candidates he met along the way, and it was really about the ground game. It was about wearing out the shoes as you’re knocking on doors to pull the vote right up to election day.”

Earlier in the evening, Liberal party strategist Rob Silver said they were “anxious to see the results. People are still working hard for a couple of hours getting those last votes out. Lots of times people complain that they’re not sure their vote mattered.”

“This is one of those elections, especially here in the GTA, where every vote is going to matter. There’s a lot of very close races in Toronto.”

Silver told 680News he wasn’t going to give up hope for Ignatieff.

“I think he’s probably tired. It’s been a long campaign, but I think he feels good about the campaign that he’s run, and he trusts the voters and he’ll see what the results are tonight.”

“I’ve been helping out every way that I can. It’s been a strong campaign and let’s see how the night turns out.”

Liberal leader stayed up in his hotel room for much of the night, before finally coming downstairs to join his supporters.

Ignatieff voted Monday around 10 a.m. in his Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding. He looked somewhat subdued as he walked into the polling station at Sir Adam Beck Junior Public School, but smiled and shook hands with fellow voters.

“I’m proud of you Michael, good campaign,” said one voter.

The Liberal leader told 680News he was feeling confident.

“I am feeling full of energy. I’m feeling good, actually. I had a good night sleep. We had a great meal with all the crew and all the press. It was great fun,” he said.

The Liberal Leader also took time, while at the polling station, to urge all Canadians to vote today – even if they don’t vote red.

“I want to make sure everybody listening to the program votes today. I’d like them to vote Liberal, but whatever you do vote! For heaven’s sake, it’s your country,” he said.

However, when asked how he voted, Ignatieff joked and said he couldn’t say because it is was a secret ballot.

Ignatieff said he was happy with his campaign, and told 680News he planned to take a nap this afternoon before watching the election results at the hotel.

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