Newmarket-Aurora’s Cobena “humbled” by election result

May 1, 2025 · 0 Comments

Sandra Cobena will represent Newmarket-Aurora’s interests in Ottawa following Monday night’s Federal election.

The Conservative newcomer came out on top over Liberal candidate Jennifer McLachlan with 31,540 votes at press time, compared to Liberal newcomer Jennifer McLachlan, who placed second with 29,294 votes.

Cobena will take over the seat vacated by long-time Liberal MP Tony Van Bynen who did not seek re-election.

At a campaign party held Monday night at Moxie’s in Newmarket, Cobena said she was “humbled” that voters put their trust in her.

“We built this campaign from the ground-up, door by door, conversation by conversation, because that is what this campaign was about from the very beginning – it was never about the title, it was never about the position, it was about my vision for Canada, our love for Canada, our desire to restore the Canadian promise,” she said. “Today is only one day. The work that we’re going to be doing starting tomorrow is what’s important and I know that every single person that voted in favour of us is expecting us to deliver.”

Pollsters had the riding of Newmarket-Aurora in play for most of the election campaign, with the riding deemed Liberal-leaning up until the final stretch.

Cobena said “discipline” helped get them over the finish line.

“I do think it was all the hard work, the over 100,000 doors that we hit,” she said. “The turnout is historic, the campaign that we ran is something I am incredibly proud of.”

“From the time I got nominated, this team came together and consistently knocked on doors and from that moment it was never about the position, it was never about me, it was about the people we were listening to, that we were talking to,” she continued. “It was about our neighbours and the people that were feeling pinched, the people that wanted to be heard. It’s those stories I carry with me and tonight I am grateful for them for placing their trust in me because, like I said, this is about them.”

Monday’s election brought a mixed bag of results for Conservatives.

While they gained the Newmarket-Aurora seat from the Liberals, nation-wide the party failed to secure government and leader Pierre Poilievre lost his long-held riding to a Liberal challenger.

With this in mind, Cobena said “the work starts tomorrow.”

“For a year-and-a-half, it has remained consistent – and the stories that I heard a year-and-a-half [ago] and the stories I heard today at the doors remain consistent: people want to feel relief. The burden of taxes is heavy and they want an honest government, an honest representative, and they want integrity in our leaders. They want to be heard and…our campaign was always very grassroots. We know the local candidate has five to eight per cent control over the results and I think we… definitely did everything we could.”

After her win was clear and asked what her top priority was on Monday night, she said, “I probably need to get to know my team quickly and decide on the mandate we want.”

“I do want to make sure the stories [that voters] shared with me are not lost,” she said. “This is about the people that put their trust in me – because it is not one, it is not two, it is several thousand people. I want to make sure…they are heard in Ottawa.”

With final poll being counted on Tuesday afternoon, Cobena’s ballots translated to a vote share of 50.6 per cent, with McLachlan sitting at 47 per cent. Third place finisher, Anna Gollen of the NDP, came away with 1,473 votes.

By Brock Weir