Marc Garneau is to be congratulated for a hard-fought and well-run race, not to mention the often-overlooked fact that he had been actively campaigning in this riding since last winter, almost immediately after getting the nod from Stéphane Dion to run on the Liberal ticket. Now that ticket has gotten him as far as Parliament Hill and Westmounters — for the first time in many, many years — can boast that they are being represented by one of their own at the federal level. Although some ardent cynics would no doubt complain that any federal MP could live in an air-conditioned tree house in Timbuktu for all the good it does us at the local level, most Westmounters would agree that Mr. Garneau’s roots in this community are sure to serve us well over the next few years.

But while Mr. Garneau came out on top, this extended campaign brought some other stars to the forefront. First of all there is Anne Lagacé Dowson, the CBC broadcaster who really rocked Westmount with an exceedingly colourful and vibrant campaign, wisely making full use of her many contacts and political allies. Jack Layton, Thomas Mulcair, even NDP icon Ed Broadbent, all showed up in Westmount to support her in her bid to overthrow the mighty Liberal dynasty. Although it fell short of its ultimate goal in Quebec, the NDP made a considerable impact on this community and Ms. Lagacé Dowson has every reason to be proud of her accomplishments over the past three months. Hopefully, we will see her name on the ballot next time around — which should be next year, according to the current trend in Canadian politics.

Another bright spot in the long campaign came from a less likely source — the Green Party. Local candidate Claude William Genest brought a new level of energy and unbridled enthusiasm to the race, the likes of which had never been seen in Westmount-Ville Marie. Passionate and outspoken on a subject that affects us all, Mr. Genest managed to drive home his environmental message to thousands of potential voters while knowing full well that he would not be elected on Oct. 14. Instead, he effectively used the election campaign as a platform for his party, and succeeded admirably in the process.

Yes, it was a long election period in this riding, and now we can finally get on with other things… Oh, but now what’s this coming from Quebec City?