NDP beat Tories to hold seat in Winnipeg
OTTAWA • The New Democrats' hope of holding onto an orange stronghold against the Conservatives in a federal byelection in Winnipeg has come true, with the Tory candidate conceding the race late Monday night after mounting a fierce campaign to flip the party stronghold blue.
With all 191 polls reporting shortly after 1:20 a.m. ET, the preliminary final results showed the NDP'S Leila Dance winning in Elmwood—transcona with around 48.1 per cent and the Conservatives' Colin Reynolds in second with 44 per cent. They were separated by a gap of 1,158 votes.
Just after 12:20 a.m. ET, Reynolds appeared before supporters to say the results were not what his campaign had hoped for, but that the party's faithful should be proud of the gains it made.
“We were the underdog in this and we made it a tight race,” said Reynolds, a unionized electrician.
“I entered this election the same way I will leave it: a construction electrician, a proud member of IBEW 2085 and a proud Conservative.”
The Liberals, who have not been historically competitive in the riding, were in a distant third with just 4.7 per cent of votes. The preliminary results show that to be a far cry from the 14.7 per cent it earned during the 2021 general election.
Monday's results showed the Conservatives increased its percentage of the vote to almost 44 per cent, compared to the 28 per cent from the last election, where the COVID-19 pandemic dominated as an issue.
The New Democrats were under pressure to retain the Winnipeg riding, which has swung orange for most of the last 30 years, in the face of an intense challenge from the Conservatives, who have been intent on growing their appeal to working Canadians, especially those in NDP ridings.
In a speech shortly after midnight, Dance, the leader of a local business improvement association, thanked both the federal party and the Manitoba NDP, whose brand is strong provincially under Premier Wab Kinew, who had endorsed Dance.
“I will see you in Ottawa,” she told supporters.
Heading into Monday's race, a senior NDP source speaking on the condition they not be named said they knew the race was a fight, but were still expecting to win.
The byelection was the first time in nearly a decade that the Blaikie name, a family whose roots run deep in the community, did not appear on the ballot. The contest was triggered after former MP Daniel Blaikie announced he was resigning. His father, the late Bill Blaikie, had represented the area for two decades under a different riding name.
In an interview with CBC News in Winnipeg, Blaikie played down the riding's reputation as a stronghold for either his family or party, saying he recalled winning by fewer 70 votes in 2015.
“I know it can be close here in Elmwood-transcona.”