Damien Kurek, Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) candidate for Battle River-Crowfoot succeeded in winning his first mandate in a commanding fashion in Monday's federal election.
Kurek garnered more than 85 per cent of the vote in the riding, outpacing all of his competitors.
“It is an incredible honour to be given a strong vocal mandate from folks in the region I call home,” said Kurek. “I look forward to serving Battle River-Crowfoot in parliament and doing everything I can fight for the things I have been talking about the whole way along; common sense, conservative values and the principles of good governance.”
He expresses his thanks to his family and team that supported him all the way from the nomination to this election outcome.
While Kurek won a mandate from his riding his party fell short of becoming government. As of press time the Liberal Party of Canada had captured 155 seats, to form a minority government.
“The election result was clear, there are some serious questions Justin Trudeau needs to answer and his Liberal government has been taken down from a majority to a minority. There are significant changes, and inversely the Conservative team has been built, it is well represented in every area of the country and we will make sure we bring forward those strong voices to ensure we hold the Liberals to account,” said Kurek.
Even with a minority government, he isn’t optimistic that they could find common ground with the Liberals.
“A lot of that is yet to be seen. One thing is the Liberals have shown, whether it is in their own party or with provinces that elect governments with different ideas than their own, they don’t work well with others and that will create an interesting dynamic,” said Kurek.
In the Bow River Riding, incumbent CPC candidate Martin Shields retained his seat in a landslide victory, winning about 83 per cent of the vote. He is grateful for the people that supported his campaign, and it was personal contact that resonated with the voters.
“Reaching out, door knocking, being on the street, meeting with groups of people. As you know there are 60 communities, a lot of small ones and I had the privilege of visiting with many people in their communities and I think that personal contact makes a difference,” said Shields. “It is really an honour to be supported by this riding.”
He also sees some positives from the national results.
“Trudeau will not form a majority government, which is a good thing,” said Shields. “Of course you want to win and you want to win a majority. In this current case, the Liberals thought they would win a majority and they haven’t which I think shows that Trudeau has really lost, in the sense that he lost a majority because of the mistakes he’s made,” said Shields.
He says he will continue to represent the needs of the riding and the country.
“In a minority government there has to be some give and take, or you are not going to be there very long,” he said. “For example, the Liberal government promised to get the Trans Mountain Pipeline built. All the things have been approved so we will be pushing hard to make sure that happens.”