The Ed Fast dynasty lives on in Abbotsford, as the incumbent Conservative Member of Parliament has won for the sixth consecutive time.
Fast pulled out to a big lead early and was never at risk of losing. With 155 polls reported, Fast had earned 19,482 votes – or 47.8 per cent of the vote. Liberal Navreen Gill (9,768 votes, 24 per cent) placed second, NDPer Dharmasena Yakandewela (6,954, 17.1 per cent) placed third, People’s Party of Canada’s Kevin Sinclair (3,093, 7.6 per cent) was fourth and Stephen Fowler (1,330, 3.3 per cent) of the Green Party finished fifth.
Fast said it was a unique, but incredibly divisive overall election.
“Awkward, unnecessary and avoidable,” he said of the election call by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “From this election I will remember the preoccupation that people had with the COVID pandemic and how divisive this campaign was. I’m appalled that political leaders at all levels of government and that starts with the Prime Minister. They’ve allowed vaccines and COVID protection to divide Canadians. They pitted Canadians and communities against one another.”
Fast also stated that he’s pleased that his support is close to what he received in 2019. In that election he received 51.4 per cent of the vote.
“We were happy with where we landed because we basically have the same percentage as we had last time, ” he said. “That tells me that the majority of residents in Abbotsford would have preferred to have an Erin O’Toole-led Conservative government.”
.@HonEdFast supporters watching @erinotoole‘s speech #Abbotsford #CanadaElection2021 pic.twitter.com/UdgET73EgP
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) September 21, 2021
The 68-year-old said he has three specific items he will now work on for Abbotsford residents. Firstly, he wants to solve the congestions issues on Highway 1, secondly is to work on Abbotsford’s water supply and thirdly attempt to restore local funding to help fight crime.
Fast said he was proud of the campaign O’Toole ran and believes he has what it takes to one day become a Prime Minister.
“Erin during this campaign proved that he is ready to lead,” he said. “He has a set of policies that will serve Canadians very well.”
He added that he hopes that Canadians realize that Trudeau, who may call another election in the next year and a half, is not serving Canadians effectively.
“At some point in time Canadians are going to realize that he’s only serving the interest of himself and not Canadians,” he said.
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Fast and his team celebrate a win on Monday (Sept. 20). (Ben Lypka/Abbotsford News)
