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Sarnia-Lambton Riding Fails To Predict Federal Government For 1st Time In 52 Years

The party of the victorious MP in Sarnia-Lambton has gone on to win the federal election.
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In the buildup to Monday's election (and eventual Liberal party majority victory), one story gathered a non-trivial amount of attention: an Ontario riding's 52-year streak has ended.

Sarnia-Lambton has served as a bellwether riding since 1963 — the party of the victorious MP there has gone on to win the federal election.

For the first time in over half a century, the riding has missed the mark. The voters of Sarnia-Lambton elected Conservative candidate Marilyn Gladu, even though her Tory party failed to form government.

Bellwether districts exist all over the world. In the United States for example, Missouri was commonly called a bellwether state and correctly predicted 96.4 per cent of federal election results for a century from 1904 to 2004.

Now that Sarnia-Lambton's perfect 52-year streak has been upset, it competes with Peterborough-Kawartha (also in Ontario) for Canada's top bellwether riding.

Peterborough-Kawartha has correctly predicted the winning party on a provincial level since 1965, getting it wrong only once in 1980.

So if you've been searching for the most obscure-yet-interesting factoid to come out of this election, you're welcome.

Correction - Oct. 20, 2015: An earlier version of this story stated that Marilyn Gladu was the incumbent; in fact, she is replacing an incumbent MP. The story has now been updated to reflect that.

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Liberal leader and incoming prime minister Justin Trudeau hugs his mother Margaret Trudeau as he makes his way on stage at Liberal party headquarters in Montreal. (credit:Justin Tang/CP)
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Liberal Leader and incoming prime minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire wave to the crowd following his victory speech at Liberal party headquarters in Montreal on Oct. 19, 2015. (credit:FotoImage)
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Justin Trudeau's wife Sophie Gregoire applauds during his speech to supporters in Montreal. (credit:FotoImage)
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Conservative Leader Stephen Harper pauses while addressing supporters at an election night gathering in Calgary. (credit:Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)
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NDP Leader Tom Mulcair speaks to supporters in Montreal. (credit:Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)
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A woman dances in front of giant screens showing election results at Liberal campaign headquarters in Montreal. (credit:Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
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Liberal supporters celebrate results at Liberal election headquarters in Montreal. (credit:Sean Kilpatrick/CP)
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Adam Vaughan supporters do the wave as they await the his speech at the Rivoli in Toronto. (credit:Marta Iwanek/CP)
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Conservative Party supporters hold a sign thanking Leader Steven Harper at the party's election night headquarters in Calgary. (credit:Darryl Dyck/CP)
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Conservative Party supporters Ross Bucsis, left, and Anita Bucsis watch federal election results at the party's election night headquarters in Calgary. (credit:Darryl Dyck/CP)
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Conservative Party supporters Ross Bucsis, left, and Anita Bucsis watch federal election results at the party's election night headquarters in Calgary. (credit:Darryl Dyck/CP)
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Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, speaks to volunteers, campaign staff and supporters, after finding out she's been re-elected during election night at the Victoria Conference Centre in Victoria, B.C. (credit:Chad Hipolito/Canadian Press)
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An NDP supporter looks on as results come in at the NDP federal election night headquarters in Montreal. (credit:Graham Hughes/CP)
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Two Bloc Quebecois supporters watch election results at the Bloc Quebecois election headquarters. (credit:Jacques Boissinot/CP)
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Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau plays with son Hadrien as he watches the results with his wife Sophie Gregoire, son Xavier and daughter Ella-Grace at a hotel in downtown Montreal on Oct. 19, 2015. (credit:Paul Chiasson/CP)
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NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair watches election results come in with his family in a Montreal hotel room on Oct. 19, 2015.
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NDP supporters watch election results come in at the NDP election centre in Montreal. (credit:Fred Chartrand/CP)
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