Outgoing provincial MPP Marie-France Lalonde will be have her name on the ballot in the this falls federal election after she won the Liberal nomination at a meeting Thursday night.
It took nearly seven hours for more than 2,000 registered members to cast their ballot at the Shenkman Arts Centre where the vote was being held. Lalonde was announced as the nominee elect shortly after 10:30 p.m., beating out fellow candidates Khatera Akbari and Jean-Claude Debuisson. The margin of victory was not made public.
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| Marie-France Lalonde gets a hug from her daughter monica after winning the federal Liberal nomination last night. Fred Sherwin/Photo |
After winning the nomination, Lalonde called on all Liberals to pull together to help keep the riding red.
"Tomorrow, right away, we are going to start door knocking in Orléans. We need to come together as a Liberal family to keep Orléans red," said Lalonde who is hoping to succeed Andrew Leslie as the member of parliament for Orléans.
The retired Lieutenant General announced he would be stepping down as MP in May after serving just one term.
Her main competition is Conservative candidate David Bertschi who won his party's nomination in June and has been actively campaigning for the past three months. The federal election is being held on Monday, Oct. 21.
The other names that will be on the ballot in October are NDP candidate
Jacqui Wiens and Green Party representative Michelle Peterson.
Wiens is currently splitting her time between canvassing door-to-door and studying history and political science at the University of Ottawa. Her key issue is climate change and the need for Canadians to do more when it comes to reducing carbon emissions.
Peterson is a registered psychotherapist who has worked in the community services sec-tor in Ottawa for 15 years.
She is a working single mom with a five-year old child who wants to champion the need for expanded mental health services in Canada.
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CommuniTree CONFERENCE from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Just Food Farm, Big Red Barn, 2nd floor - 2391 Pepin Court in Blackburn Hamlet. Check in and registration at 8 a.m. The Conference will include various panels, a networking break and a tour of a Community Food Forest. This is an opportunity for community members to share tree-related stories, data and projects and provide attendees with new ideas, information and resources to carry out tree-related initiatives in their communities.
HALLOWE'EN HIJINX from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum. A day of family-friendly Halloween fun at the museum! Wear your costume and explore the origins of Halloween traditions as you collect some yummy treats along the way. Complete a scavenger hunt, create your own masquerade mask and more! Cost: $19.75 per family (2 adults + children); $7.75 adults; $5.50 seniors, children and students. Children 5 and under are free.
ORLEANS COMMUNITY SPAGHETTI SUPPER AND SILENT AUCTION hosted by the Orléans Lions Club from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the basement of St. Joseph Church, 2757 St. Joseph Blvd. Tickets: Adults $13 ; Children under 12 $5 available at th door or in advance from members or by sending an e-mail to 
