The Canadian election’s party results went mostly as many of us conscientious observers predicted: a Liberal minority.

However, there were more than a few unexpected results across the board, including Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre losing the Carleton riding to Liberal Bruce Fanjoy.

Poilievre had been representing the riding of Nepean-Carleton and Carleton since 2004.

What’s more surprising is Poilievre announcing he plans to stay on as leader despite not having a seat in parliament or being able to speak as the official opposition or being elected by the people.

Wasn’t that a big deal to Conservative supporters when Mark Carney was picked to replace former PM Justin Trudeau? Asking for a friend.

It’s very likely the Conservative Party will remove Mr. Poilievre from his leadership and move on to someone ready to lead from the middle, retake the party’s centre-right status, and start to distance themselves from the fringe minority.

I’ve always felt like Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Scott Aitchison, who ran for the party leadership against Poilievre, would have made a solid leader.

He’s generally a moderate thinker who believes in affordable and attainable housing, supporting locally owned small business, and healthcare funding.

We also know he isn’t afraid to cross party lines to work on bipartisan bills that would benefit all Canadians – something we 100 per cent need more of from everyone elected.

The GTA’s 905ers also showed they were voting for “change” and for many it was surprising to see so many Conservative wins in traditionally sound Liberal ridings.

I’m especially sad to see my friend Francesco Sorbara lose in the Vaughan-Woodbridge riding after he spent three terms working hard for the people.

The worst part is that had these ridings stayed with tradition, they would have been in a much better position post-election. Now, they may not get anything they really need or want – but there will be a lot of lip service and finger pointing coming from their newly elected representatives.

What wasn’t surprising to me, but may have been to others not paying attention, is the now former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh finishing third in his riding, losing his seat, and stepping down from his position afterwards.

With the NDP also losing party status due to a huge drop in elected officials, it may be time for them to consider folding altogether and uniting with a different party.

Singh and the NDP lost this party the second they entered a coalition with the Trudeau-led Liberals several years ago. Once that happened, they may as well have all gone red and moved on.

The late Jack Layton was the last respectable NDP leader – or really any candidate – and when he passed on, the party dropped dramatically in terms of policy, people, and respect.

The Green Party may want to also look at closing up shop and establishing something different after failures in both the Ontario and Canada elections.

Maybe the Greens and NDP can form a coalition with other parties across the country (there are so many more than you can imagine) and create a legitimate opposition party that believes in small government, true democracy, and finding bipartisan solutions to everyday problems.

On that note, I have said it many times to many people, one of the major parties looking for a quality candidate to run somewhere in Ontario should offer my buddy Matt Richter (the provincial Green’s deputy leader) whatever it takes to get him to sign on.

He’s a star in the waiting, but he’s had the wrong colour on his signs . . . so far.

On that note, congratulations to our new Prime Minister Mark Carney, and to all those who won seats in our parliament regardless of political affiliation.

I hope each of you does our nation proud and works together to create a prosperous, healthy future for us all!

That’s it for me! Ciao for now!