Reporter Vikki Hopes is at the camp of Brad Vis, where the Conservative Party candidate and supporters are watching results come in at the Elks Hall on Second Avenue in Mission. Watch this story for live updates.
11:22:
Vis arrives to the cheers of the crowd. He gives a tearful speech, with his wife Kat by his side, saying they are disappointed by the result, showing Sidhu with a lead of fewer than 700 votes, but grateful for all the support. “We are devastated but life is bigger than the political race and who runs government.” He says, at age 31, he is still young and other opportunities will arise.
11:20:
It has just been announced that Vis should be arriving in about five minutes.
10:58:
Queen’s We will Rock You is blasting over the speakers. People are singing along and stomping their feet.
10:48:
The crowd is in a frenzy as Vis pulls into the lead by .7 per cent. Cheering, whooping and clapping erupt.
10:44:
Just 126 votes, and one percentage point, now separate the contenders. The crowd goes wild.
10:28:
The crowd continues to cheer with every update that comes in, showing that Vis is now about 200 votes behind Sidhu. Now 140 of 189 polls reporting.
10:12 p.m.:
Supporters cheer and stamp their feet as Vis narrows the gap. Sidhu at 36.9 per cent, Vis at 35.6 per cent. Fewer than 300 votes now separate them. Still no sign of Vis.
9:55 p.m.
The gap is widening slightly. Sidhu continues to hold the lead by about 600 votes.
9:28 p.m.:
The crowd is getting restless, as Vis tails Sidhu by fewer than 500 votes, with half the polls now reporting results.
9 p.m.:
About 50 supporters are at the Elks Hall as they watch Stephen Harper’s speech but makes no mention that he is stepping down as leader of the Conservative Party. Still no sign of Vis, but communications consultant Justin Goodrich announces that the candidate is waiting for more definitive results.. Sidhu now leads by about 450 votes.
8:39 pm.:
Vis is back in the lead – but barely. Less than 200 votes separate him and Sidhu.
8:27 p.m.:
Vis and Sidhu continue to battle back and forth for the lead. Sidhu currently leads with 39 per cent to Vis’ 35 per cent. NDP Dennis Adamson is at 19 per cent.
8:13 p.m.:
Communications consultant Justin Goodrich announces that Vis will be on his way shortly, Vis’ wife Kat takes the time to thank supporters, saying, “This has been a really long journey … A lot of you have been here from the beginning.” This evening is “history in the making” with the first election for this new riding, she concludes.
8:06 p.m.
Vis and Jati Sidhu are tied at 36 per cent. Supporters wait for Vis to arrive.
8:02 p.m.:
It’s starting to pick up at the Elks Hall as more supporters come through the doors. Vis is leading the polls with 49 per cent, compared to 38 per cent for Liberal Jati Sidhu.
7:48 p.m.:
According to supporters, Vis is ahead by 40 votes after two polls are reported.
7:40 p.m.:
Supporters are starting to trickle in to the Elks Hall. Word is that Brad Vis will be on his way shortly. Some technical difficulties have arisen as audiovisual and computer equipment is set up to monitor results as they come in.
First poll results are announced, showing 54.9 per cent in favour of Vis.
The newly created riding is very large, including Mission, those parts of Abbotsford north of Maclure and Bateman roads, as well as the northern portion of the eastern Fraser Valley and the Fraser Canyon up to Lillooet.
Click below for the latest local results, as they are available:
