The three candidates defeated in the Souris-Moose Mountain riding in Monday night’s federal election took solace in the fact that there was a change in government.
Vicky O’Dell of the New Democratic Party finished second in Souris-Moose Mountain with 5,131 votes, or 13.7 per cent of the 37,516 votes cast. Her total was well behind the 26,315 votes received by the victor, Robert Kitchen of the Conservative Party, who had 70.1 per cent support.
She told the Mercury that when she entered the federal election campaign early this year, her first goal was to see Stephen Harper out as prime minister. Her wish was granted, as the Liberals, led by Justin Trudeau, defeated Harper’s Conservative government, ending the Tories’ reign after nearly a decade.
Harper stepped down after the defeat.
“Obviously we elected a majority Liberal government, which is different than what I would have wanted, but I can live with it,” said O’Dell.
O’Dell said she was disappointed to see some strong NDP members of Parliament defeated in the election.
The NDP entered the election as the official opposition with 95 seats in Parliament, but they were reduced to third party status with 43 seats.
As for this riding, O’Dell said people wanted to re-elect the Conservatives in this constituency.
She faced a lot of questions about oil, and O’Dell said constituents believed they needed the Tories to win to keep their jobs in the oil sector.
O’Dell said she tried to change their mind, but she couldn’t.
She believes she tried her best in the campaign, and she was pleased she was able to articulate her concerns on First Nations issues in Canada.
O’Dell also believes Kitchen will make a great MP for the constituency.
Liberal candidate Steven Bebbington was third with 5,076 votes, or 13.5 per cent. He was largely inactive during the campaign, as he didn’t attend any of the debates or other events in the constituency.
He said he was pleased with the result, considering his late start several weeks after the campaign began, and the fact that he resides outside of the constituency.
“Next time around, I’ll be that much more prepared, and I’ll be able to get out there and get everything done,” said Bebbington.
It was a bitter-sweet night for him, since the Liberals were able to form a majority government, and regain power for the first time in nearly a decade.
“I’m sure they’re going to do their best to address all the concerns,” said Bebbington.
Bob Deptuck of the Green Party finished fourth with 994 votes, or 2.6 per cent support.
He said he wasn’t surprised the Tories held onto the riding, since they received around 70 per cent of voter support in previous elections.
But he was surprised that O’Dell and Bebbington were close in the results.
“The Liberals only had a paper candidate. That’s what’s disappointing,” said Deptuck. “People still voted Liberal, despite the person never really being here.”
Deptuck said there was a recent poll that indicated he might get 4 1/2 or five per cent of the vote, so he was also disappointed there wasn’t more support for the Greens in the area.
He was pleased to see Green Party Leader Elizabeth May held onto her seat in parliament, but he wanted to see a few more Green MPs elected to bring their ideas forward.
“We are happy Green policies have been adopted by the other parties, so it’s not like we’re not being heard,” said Deptuck.
Deptuck said he is relieved Harper’s tenure as prime minister is over, and he hopes Trudeau’s government will reverse some of the decisions made by Harper’s government.
