The red wave that swept the Liberal Party into a majority government was felt in the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo riding – but not enough to dislodge Conservative Party incumbent Cathy McLeod in the federal election on Oct. 19.
McLeod won the local riding with 35.2 per cent of the vote, but her support dropped about 17 per cent from the last election results four years ago.
The Liberal Party, meanwhile, with candidate Steve Powrie, saw a significant 25 per cent increase in support here from 2011.
Powrie finished third with 30.5 per cent of the vote, just behind NDP candidate Bill Sundhu in second with 30.8 per cent.
The 2015 campaign, at 78 days, was the longest in modern Canadian history.
Nationally, incoming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau led the Liberals from a third-place party with 34 seats to a first-place majority government with 184.
Sundhu says the NDP, which went from 103 to 44 seats, both locally and nationally got caught up in the Liberal “tsunami” across the country.
“The desire for change [from the government of Stephen Harper] was strong and Canadians decided the Liberal Party was the safer bet.
“Locally, we ran a very strong campaign, a very dynamic campaign. We knocked on over 22,000 doors. Our fundraising was at record levels. But, I think in the end, the progressive parties split the vote and the strong Liberal showing across the country caught us in this riding.”
Powrie says the future of Canada looks great with a less divisive and more progressive leader in Justin Trudeau, but adds that with new power comes “huge responsibility.”
“People are putting all of their marbles into that [Liberal] basket in a massive swing of the pendulum…. There’s an energy and vitality right now that makes it exciting to think about government.”
Among the main things he sees the Liberals doing are shifting the focus of the economy with more investment in green technology, making Canada more collaborative and inclusive on the world stage, improving the tone of government at home, and reforming the electoral system by bringing in proportional representation.
“I truly believe the Liberals are going to get us to that point. It’s not going to happen overnight, but you have four years of majority.”
Local Green Party candidate Matt Greenwood, who received 3.8 per cent of the vote, says replacing the first -past-the-post electoral system with proportional representation is in the best interest of the country.
To bring that point home, Greenwood says he didn’t even vote for himself on Oct. 19. Since he didn’t believe he had a shot at winning the race, he voted strategically for the candidate he thought had the best chance at unseating the Conservative candidate, not the party that most reflected his political views.
“I never want to make that calculation again. I don’t want anybody else to ever have to make that calculation again.”
