How We Raised the Bar: 2025 Election Report Back
On Monday, the Liberals clinched a minority government after a nail-biter of an election night. It’s a huge win for all of us who organized, who volunteered or donated and door-knocked to defeat Poilievre and his toxic vision for Canada.
Democracy doesn’t end at the ballot box — and there will be plenty of work for us to do in the months ahead as we push Carney’s Liberals to deliver the change working people need. But for right now, we want to take a moment to celebrate all that we accomplished together over the last 38 days.
The Highlights
How the Leadnow community stepped up to Raise the Bar:
Election Squads
It all started with our How We Fight Back — our Federal Election Campaign Launch Call in February, where our community first gathered and made a plan to fight back against the far right.
498 people joined the call, and from there, Leadnow volunteers formed 15 Raise the Bar Election Squads all across the country — from the Comox Valley to Regina to Kitchener to Gander. Our goal was to defeat Poilievre’s Conservatives, and elect Raise the Bar champions who would bring the fight for affordable housing, climate action, and corporate accountability to Ottawa.
Election Squads got to work right away — and over three months, 402 volunteer leaders held more than 52 events in their communities. They hosted town halls and house meetings to bring their neighbours together on the issues that matter. They distributed more than 19,000 flyers and posters exposing Poilievre’s toxic agenda for Canada. And they vetted, endorsed, and helped elect 18 Raise the Bar champions by canvassing their neighbourhoods and knocking on hundreds of doors.
We wanted to highlight the work of a few local Election Squads, whose efforts demonstrate exactly how much of a difference local organizing can make in elections like this one.
One of these was the Ottawa Election Squad, which set out to keep Pierre Poilievre from winning his Carleton riding. Ottawa volunteers knew that the best place to reach voters in Carleton was at the grocery store — so they plastered the parking lots with posters and flyers calling out Poilievre’s record on issues like housing, climate, and affordability. Pierre Poilievre lost his seat in this riding — and while his defeat was the result of great collective effort, the Ottawa Squad’s voter outreach undeniably played a part.
On the other side of the country, the Kelowna Election Squad put in serious work to expose the Conservative agenda for what it really is — distributing thousands of flyers and posters across the riding. Their relentless organizing helped flip Kelowna for the Liberals with a margin of just 1,000 votes.
Testimonial from Kelowna Squad member Neta:
“We started the squad in the winter because we were terrified about the upcoming election and felt we had to act, but we were worried it would be a waste of time because the Okanagan is known for having a mostly conservative population. Not only that it wasn’t, we also got to meet so many other progressive locals and learn about progressive organizations that are doing great work in the community. And in the end, the Liberals+NDP+Green got more than 53% of the votes in the Kelowna riding!”
Raise the Bar Champions
Beyond exposing Poilievre’s toxic vision for Canada, our goal this election was to back Raise the Bar Champions – candidates who could take on the Conservatives and who weren’t afraid to stand up for everyday people.
Election Squads led our vetting and endorsement process. They met with candidates, pushed for clear commitments on issues like housing, climate, and corporate accountability, and helped identify those who were up to the task. In the end, volunteers and staff vetted 21 candidates — and 18 of them became our Raise the Bar Champions.
Once we’d endorsed our Raise the Bar Champions, Election Squads gave everything they had to get them elected. With our help, six of our champions won their seats (in some cases, like in Don Davies’ Vancouver-Kingsway riding, by as few as 310 votes) — and will now be returning to Parliament to hold the line on the issues that matter to everyday people.
So many volunteers stepped up over the last 38 days to stand alongside their neighbours in the fight, and we are so grateful. If you were out in the streets, flyering or postering, talking to your neighbours, you made a difference. Thank you.
Airwars, Skytrains and Billboard mobiles
Thanks to thousands of donations from Leadnow supporters like you, we launched a no-holds-barred ad campaign to expose Pierre Poilievre’s toxic vision for Canada and his shameful voting record.
Skytrain Ads
With your help, we launched digital ads in the SkyTrain — a heavily-trafficked transit system that goes through several swing ridings that the Conservatives were fighting to win. Every day, almost 500,000 commuters were confronted with the message that Poilievre has promised to cut programs like Pharmacare, and make life more expensive for everyday people.
Social Media Ads
We ran a strategic social media campaign on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, taking direct aim at Poilievre’s dangerous, Trump-style agenda.
Over the course of the election, we ran nearly 50 hard-hitting ads that reached more than 7 million people across the country (this is a record for Leadnow!). We focused on key demographics and battleground ridings — and used our ads to boost our Raise the Bar champions, giving them critical visibility in tight races.
Aaron Gunn Billboard
In March, Leadnow supporter and local resident Eric launched a petition demanding Poilievre ditch Aaron Gunn — a CPC candidate who has been in the spotlight for years for his residential school denialism and transphobic, sexist views — and over 19,000 people signed.
When the federal leaders’ debates took place in Montreal, we jumped at the chance to turn up the heat on Poilievre to ditch Aaron Gunn. With your help, we fundraised for a mobile billboard that circled the debate stage — broadcasting our message loud and clear so Poilievre and the gathered media would be sure to see it.
We then proudly endorsed NDP candidate Tanille Johnston in Gunn’s riding of North Island–Powell River. While the polls had projected that the race was a shoe-in for Gunn, Johnston and the local Election Squad gave him a run for his money — tightening the race to a handful of percentage points. Together, we showed what happens when communities fight back against racist rhetoric — and we know Eric and his local Election Squad will continue to hold Aaron Gunn’s feet to the fire.
In tight races like Vancouver Kingsway and North Island—Powell River, seeing ads with key information at the right time may have been the deciding factor for voters in swing ridings. We couldn’t have reached so many voters without the help from donations from supporters like you — so, thank you.
What Comes Next
The dust is still settling in the wake of Carney’s victory — but one thing is already crystal clear: six Raise the Bar champions are heading to Parliament, ready to carry the torch for affordable housing, good green jobs, and a tax on corporate greed.
To our newly elected Raise the Bar Champions: congratulations. You ran with courage, integrity, and a deep commitment to the communities you serve. We’re proud to stand beside you, and we’re ready to keep pushing — together — for a future where working people aren’t left behind.
And to our unelected champions: thank you. Your leadership, grit, and refusal to back down inspired thousands. You helped shift the conversation, elevate critical issues, and build momentum that doesn’t end on election night. This movement is stronger because of you.
In the meantime, our volunteer leaders across the country have sharpened their skills and built lasting relationships in their communities — and these local powerhouses are ready to dig in for the long haul to hold Carney’s Liberals to account. If you didn’t have the chance to join an Election Squad in your community during the election period, we’ll need you more than ever in the months to come — so keep an eye on this space as our next steps come into focus.
If there’s anything this election showed us, it’s that people power matters — and it’ll take all of us digging in for the long haul to deliver the solutions our communities deserve.
So before we dig in for the work ahead, let’s take a moment to celebrate everything we accomplished together in this hard-fought election. This wasn’t just about defeating Poilievre, or even winning seats. It was about raising the bar on what’s possible in Canadian politics — about demanding more from our leaders and standing up for bold, principled change rooted in justice, equity, and care for people and the planet. And together, that’s exactly what we did.
With gratitude and anticipation for the work ahead,
The Leadnow Team