With nearly three-quarters of the polls reporting in the Courtenay-Alberni riding, Conservative candidate John Duncan has conceded to NDP candidate Gord Johns. Johns has more than a 5,000-vote lead over Duncan.
As of 9:43 p.m., Johns had 17,308 votes to Duncan’s 12,047. Liberal Carrie-Powell Davidson had 10,108. Green Party candidate Glenn Sollitt 5,149 and Marxist Leninist candidate Barbara Biley 101.
Powell-Davidson congratulated Johns on his victory in the new riding.
"I don’t have any regrets at all, my team and I worked our tail feathers off for the last year," Powell-Davidson said. "I’m really satisfied with the job we did and the way we built the presence of the party in this riding.
"We haven’t got any regrets. We’re a little disappointed in not getting this riding but we’re absolutely thrilled with the way it went nationally, so we’ll be celebrating regardless."
Meanwhile, a red wave was sweeping across the country after early returns in the federal election Monday, with a Liberal majority government predicted by most news outlets by 8 p.m. A party needs 170 seats for a majority. When parliament was dissolved for this election, the Conservatives had 159 seats, the NDP 95 and the Liberals 36. As of 9:47 p.m. Monday (Oct. 19, 2015), the Liberals were elected or leading in 184 ridings, the Conservatives 102 and the NDP in 41. The Green Party has 1 seat, leader Elizabeth May, in Saanich-Gulf Islands.
More to come at www.albernivalleynews.com and follow our coverage on Twitter.com/AlberniNews and our Facebook page.
— With files from Susan Quinn, Alberni Valley News