Conservative incumbent Tracy Gray has been reelected in Kelowna-Lake Country.
As of 10:24 p.m. on election night, Gray is up by more than 10,000 votes on Liberal candidate Tim Krupa with more than 92 per cent of polls reporting.
Gray’s 26,883 votes, put her at 46 per cent of the popular vote, a strong lead over Krupa’s 15,152 votes and 25.9 per cent. Behind those two are federal NDP candidate Cade Desjarlais with 17.7 per cent (10,370 votes), People’s Party candidate Brian Rogers with 7.3 per cent (4,238 votes) and Green Party candidate Imre Szeman with 3.1 per cent (1,812) votes.
“I’m honoured that the people of Kelowna have voted for me as their Member of Parliament. It’s truly a privilege to go to Ottawa and advocate on behalf of our community and to serve our constituents every day in our constituency office,” said Gray in an interview with Black Press Media. “I want to thank all of the volunteers and everyone who worked on my campaign.”
“I would also like to thank the other candidates for putting their name forward on the ballot. I know it’s not easy to put yourself out there and be judged by an entire community. I want to thank them and I look forward to working with them,” Gray added.
Tim
A soft-spoken Krupa conceded the riding to Gray after a hotly-contested campaign.
Speaking from his local campaign headquarters the 30-year-old Krupa thanked his friends, family, volunteers and supporters for cheering him on during the campaign.
“I want to thank Tracy Gray for her hard-fought campaign and victory,” he said. “I called her to congratulate her and thank her for stepping up.”
When asked if he would have done anything different to tighten the race, as Krupa trailed Gray by more than 11,000 votes, he said no.
“We knocked on a lot of doors and talked to a lot of residents in the community” he explained. “They want action on climate change, they want more affordable housing and child care …. so, I know there is an appetite for progressive Liberal values and I would have been advocating for them.”
Although not a minority government the Liberals did win enough seats to stay in power but fell short of winning a majority.
To which Krupa thanked Canadians for putting their trust in Liberals to lead the country.
As far as the future goes, Krupa said he is taking some time to reflect and that he will always speak up for his community because Kelowna-Lake Country is his home.
Krupa was the only candidate to makes themselves available in-person for media questions.
READ MORE: CANADA VOTES: Conservative Dan Albas retains seat in Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola
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