In an upset, Liberal candidate Karina Gould knocked Conservative Mike Wallace from his seat in Burlington.

It was an incredibly tight race, with early results showing Gould at 46.9% and Wallace at 46.7%.

But by the end of the night, the young Liberal had secured the riding.

"I've promised to be a strong voice for Burlington and I'm ready to get to work as their Member of Parliament," Gould told the Star. Historically, Burlington has been a Conservative stronghold and incumbent MP Mike Wallace was hoping to keep the tradition alive by being re-elected for a fourth term this year.

The Burlington riding, which is in Halton Region, was first represented in the House of Commons in 1979 and since has had only three MPs: Progressive Conservative Bill Kempling from 1979 to 1993, Liberal Paddy Torsney from 1993 to 2006 and Wallace for the past three terms.

Provincially, the area was represented by the Progressive Conservatives from 1985 until just last year when Liberal MPP Eleanor MacMahon was elected, breaking the long Conservative hold.

In this year’s federal election, both the Liberal and Green party candidates were first-time runners against Wallace, a seasoned politician.

Liberal candidate Karina Gould was facing her first election at the age of 28. She was described by the Liberal party as “young, articulate and very well-educated.”

The Green party asked environmental activist Vince Fiorito to run in this year’s election. Fiorito, who has over 35 years of experience in electronics and information technology, was green in the political arena.

NDP candidate David Laird, who has lost to Wallace in the previous three elections, works for The Children’s Aid Society of Toronto and is also vice-president of CUPE Local 2316, North America’s largest child protection union.

Typically, Burlington residents are well-to-do, educated and middle-class.

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