While election watchers had to wait Monday night for results across Canada, the count in Battle River-Crowfoot was decisive.
Incumbent MP Damien Kurek had no trouble retaining his seat. He captured more than 82 percent of the vote. This is higher than his 2021 results, where he captured 71.3 per cent of the vote.
Brent Sutton of the Liberal Party captured about 11 per cent. James Mackay of the NDP received just over 4 per cent of the vote, Jonathan Bridges of the People’s Party of Canada received just under two per cent of the vote, and the Green Party received less than one per cent.
“Parliament looks very different from how it did in February. It is an honour to have a mandate from the people of Battle River Crowfoot to continue to work for them in parliament to make sure their voices are heard, and it will be very interesting to see what this new parliament looks and feels like,” said Kurek. “As we get recalled here, in what I am assuming the next couple of weekends, where there is also a very different policy agenda.”
It was less than an hour after the last poll closed that most networks declared that Mark Caney would be the next Prime Minister and the Liberal Party would be forming a government. It took hours, however, to determine whether it would be a majority or a minority.
In the end, the Liberal Party of Canada captured 169 seats, up from 160 seats in the 2021 election, short of the 172 needed for a majority.
Prime Minister Carney’s acceptance speech centred around many of the challenges facing Canada, including trade with the US, sovereignty, job creation, building homes and creating a resource corridor.
“I began with humility, and Canadians are ambitious, and now more than ever, it is a time for ambition, it is time to be bold to meet this crisis with an overwhelming positive force of a United Canada," said Carney.
The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) made gains and captured 144 seats, up from 119 seats in 2021.
Leader Pierre Poilievre was not able to retain his seat in the Carleton Riding, a seat he had held since 2004. He indicated he would stay and fight.
“We are cognizant of the fact that we didn’t quite get over the finish line. We know that change is needed, but change is hard to come by; it takes time, and it takes work. That is why we have to learn the lessons of tonight so we can have an even better result the next time Canadians decide the future of the country,” Poilievre said in his speech.
The NDP were decimated in the polarized race, capturing only seven seats and losing official party status. Leader Jagmeet Singh lost his seat.
In the Bow River Riding, newcomer David Bexte of the CPC captured the seat with 78.7 per cent. Bentley Barnes of the Liberal Party received about 17 percent of the vote, and Luisa Gwin of the NDP received 3 percent. Tom Lipp of the Christian Heritage Party and Aaron Patton of the United Party each captured under one per cent of the vote.
All results listed are preliminary until declared official.
