Trent alumna Michelle Ferreri is headed to Ottawa as the Member of Parliament representing Peterborough-Kawartha.

With Peterborough-Kawartha bucking its bellwether trend, Ms. Ferreri will go on to serve as part of the official opposition, and is heading there with clear priorities for the region including the establishment of a mental health facility in Peterborough.

On September 20, the Conservative federal election candidate garnered 25,812 votes with all but two polls reported. The seat for Peterborough-Kawartha was previously held by Trent alumna Maryam Monsef since 2015.

In the Peterborough-Kawartha candidate mix were fellow Trent alumni Chanté White ’12, representing the Green Party, and Paul C. Lawton ‘03, running for the Peoples Party of Canada. The NDP candidate was Joy Lachica.

A former television news journalist and, more recently, a social media influencer, speaker and marketing consultant, Ferreri graduated from Trent with a degree in Anthropology and Biology.

Ms. Ferreri summarized her years at Trent as “a tremendous experience, adding, “The crunch of exams, assignments, papers, labs – all gave me a skillset that set me up for life. You had to learn to manage time. But what I really learned at Trent was how to learn.”

Ms. Ferreri’s candidacy marked the first time a woman has stood for federal election in Peterborough for the Conservatives. Also noteworthy is that four of the six Peterborough-Kawartha candidates were women. Gracious and quick to congratulate Ms. Ferreri on election night, Ms. Monsef made particular note of that milestone.

“This is a big deal…it’s a testament to our community and should be recognized,” she said.