NDP candidate Rachel Blaney appears to be on her way to her third electoral victory, leading the polls in the North Island - Powell River riding in MondayB次元官网网址檚 federal election.
As of 10:10 p.m., Sept. 20, and with more than 87 per cent of the polls reporting, Blaney had accrued 14,861 votes, 2,063 more than her closest rival, Conservative candidate Shelley Downey who had 12,798 votes. Third place was being held by Liberal candidate Jennifer Grenz with 4,855, Green Party candidate Jessica Wegg fourth with 2,457, PeopleB次元官网网址檚 Party candidate Paul McKnight fifth with 1,886, Maverick Party candidate Stacey Gastis sixth with 176 and Marxist-Leninist candidate Carla Neal seventh with 61.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 very pleased to be the MP again,B次元官网网址� Blaney said on Monday night. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 so grateful to my family who has been putting up with all of this craziness for the past six years, and to my amazing team. I had an amazing campaign team and so many volunteers who spent hours on the phones, knocking on doors, dropping information and doing all the things that they do. IB次元官网网址檓 really really honoured for peopleB次元官网网址檚 support in all the ways that they provided it.B次元官网网址�
Blaney also acknowledged the close race in the riding, saying B次元官网网址淚 recognize how amazing our democracy is, because itB次元官网网址檚 not just my volunteers, but itB次元官网网址檚 the volunteers from all of the parties who participated in democracy and all the hard work that they did. IB次元官网网址檓 full of gratitude for being allowed to continue in this very important role.
B次元官网网址淲e have a riding that has gone back and forth between the Conservatives and the NDP for several generations it seems, so I expect nothing less than that,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淣ow that IB次元官网网址檓 in this role again IB次元官网网址檒l continue to do my work and talk with everyone to try and do the best I can for the whole riding.B次元官网网址�
Though Green Party candidate Jessica Wegg is currently in fourth place in the riding, she noted she is not disappointed in the process of running for office.
B次元官网网址淚t was an incredible experience,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 met so many amazing and committed people along the way.B次元官网网址�
She had kind words for her supporters, praising their passion and dedication to a wide variety of environmental issues.
While the result was less than ideal for her, Wegg said there is not much she would change about the campaign.
B次元官网网址淚t was a snap election, and it was way shorter than anyone expected,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淎nd it was a pandemic, so we were limited in what we could do.
B次元官网网址淚 think we did a pretty great job all things considered.B次元官网网址�
Conservative candidate Downey and Liberal candidate Grenz have indicated they will be available for comment tomorrow.
Keep in mind that results are still preliminary and there are still mail-in ballots to count beginning tomorrow.
B次元官网网址� with files and reporting by Marc Kitteringham, Ronan OB次元官网网址橠oherty, Sean Feagan, Erin Haluschak, Tyson Whitney and Alistair Taylor
