The people have spoken and, in our parliamentary democracy, we respect the will of the people.

Monday’s federal election gave voters across the country the chance to “vote for change” or to support a vision that aims to stand up for Canada against the foolish attacks we face from the clown show south of the border.

In electing a minority Liberal government while at the same time handing the Conservatives more seats than they had at dissolution (and more support than many thought they’d receive), electors seemed to be saying they bought what Mark Carney’s Liberal party was selling — but they weren’t completely enamoured of the Grits so they also were angry enough to embrace the Conservatives’ populist mantra of “change.”

Sort of a classic Canadian compromise, depending on your perspective.

The Liberals’ 25-seat cushion isn’t the “razor thin” margin that Tory leader Pierre Poilievre labelled it, but that’s politics. Messaging seems more important than reality.

As readers of The Lake Report might recall, we have not been fans of Poilievre, especially after a visit to Niagara-on-the-Lake last summer where he chose to lie, exaggerate and pander simply to fire up his base.

But that is, unfortunately, politics and the way he chose to approach issues.

As the election results show, it served him well in much of Niagara and huge swaths of the country. But that doesn’t make it any more palatable.

Conversely, watching his 11-minute concession speech late Monday, and reading over the transcript afterward, he delivered a much more conciliatory and mature message.

Gone was most of the posturing and politicking, replaced by a much more temperate and measured message.

It was refreshing — and really out of character given what we have heard from him the past three years. Perhaps the fact he realized was destined to lose his own seat in Parliament inspired some humility and even attempts at building bridges for the good of the country.

Regrettably, given the attack dog personality Poilievre has exhibited up till now, it is impossible to know how much of it was sheer performance for the cameras and how much was genuine.

What we do know is that Carney has his work cut out for him as prime minister. He needs to find ways to work with other parties and provincial leaders in all parts of the country. Governing will be far more complex than simply spouting slogans and rhetoric, as Poilievre did.

Here in the newly created Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake riding, the voters’ message was clear: they again chose incumbent Tory Tony Baldinelli over Liberal challenger Andrea Kaiser.

His plurality was about 2,500, down around 600 votes from 2021 when Fort Erie was still part of the riding.

Now, whether that result is a huge endorsement of Baldinelli the man versus the whole Conservative “change” campaign is anyone’s guess. And it doesn’t really matter. The fact is people have again chosen a Tory to represent their interests.

We’ll look later at the breakdown of how each of NOTL and the Falls voted, but we can say anecdotally at least that we know of many people in town who normally would lean toward the Conservatives but this time rejected the divisive, negative approach that Poilievre and strategist Jenni Byrne adopted.

So, where do we go from here?

As Canadians, we (and our leaders) need to set aside divisions, to fight collectively for what is best for our nation, to work together to help those in our society who need it most  — and to build a stronger Canada that can withstand the winds of Trumpian blustering while boosting opportunities and making life safer and more affordable for all.

It’s a tall order.