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Election 2021 replay: Liberals take another minority as O'Toole vows to fight on

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Potential vote splitting from a pair of new right-wing parties was not enough to bleed votes away from the federal Conservatives as they once again took every rural Alberta riding blue.

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Neither the People’s Party of Canada nor the western alienation-fuelled Maverick Party made anything approaching breakthrough gains anywhere in Alberta.

Nine of Calgary’s ten ridings also went blue, but Calgary Skyview has now been called for Liberal candidate George Chahal by The Canadian Press. Chahal has 40 per cent of the vote with 82 per cent of polls reporting. However Chahal is playing it safe before declaring victory, reminding supporters that more ballots need to be counted.

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Calgary Skyview Liberal Party candidate George Chahal thanks supporters outside his campaign headquarters on Monday, September 20, 2021.
Calgary Skyview Liberal Party candidate George Chahal thanks supporters outside his campaign headquarters on Monday, September 20, 2021. Gavin Young/Postmedia
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Calgary Centre was expected to be a close race, However conservative candidate Greg McLean took just over 50 per cent of the total vote. Second place Liberal candidate Sabrina Grover had only 29 per cent of the votes.

Other Calgary Conservatives won their seats handily. Conservative candidate Michelle Rempel Garner won re-election in her riding of Calgary Nose Hill with a lead of about 16,000 votes. Stephanie Kusie won Calgary Midnapore with a lead of more than 26,000 votes, taking 60 per cent of the votes in her riding.

Calgary Nose Hill candidate, Michelle Rempel Garner, speaks to reporters following another conservative win in her N.E. Calgary riding.
Calgary Nose Hill candidate, Michelle Rempel Garner, speaks to reporters following another conservative win in her N.E. Calgary riding. Brendan Miller/Postmedia

In Edmonton, the federal NDP now have two seats. NDP candidate Heather McPherson has been re-elected in Edmonton Strathcona, while Blake Desjarlais appears to have taken Edmonton Griesbach. The Liberals are leading in Edmonton Centre, but only by a few hundred votes in a race that remains too close to call.

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Liberal minority projected

The Canadian Press projected the Liberals have won enough seats to stay in power with a minority government but have fallen short of winning a majority.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will need the support of at least one other party to maintain a minority government.

Nationally, the Conservatives have a slightly higher share of the popular vote. Despite having about 2 per cent more of the popular vote than the Liberals, that has not translated to seats for the Conservatives, who trail by about 25 seats.

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Check the results in individual ridings below using our map tool.

Trudeau thanks supporters in victory speech

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Liberal leader Justin Trudeau said he now has a mandate to continue steering Canada through the pandemic. He also reaffirmed election promises such as $10-per-day childcare as he addressed supporters.

Trudeau said he would be a prime minister for everyone, and not just those who voted for his party.

O’Toole plans to stay on as Conservative leader

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Conservative leader Erin O’Toole gave a concession speech that sounded more like a campaign speech as he admitted Canadians have once again handed the Liberals a minority government.

O’Toole noted that the Conservatives took more of the popular vote, and he said there is more work to do to introduce the Conservative party to more Canadians.

Several times through his speech, he brought up the fact that Liberal leader Justin Trudeau recently said he would hold another election in 18 months if he didn’t win a majority with Canadians this election. O’Toole said the Conservatives would be ready for that election.

Two party leaders out

The Canadian Press is projecting that Green Party Leader Annamie Paul has lost in the Ontario riding of Toronto Centre.

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This was her third time seeking the downtown Toronto seat, considered a Liberal stronghold. She lost to former Liberal finance minister Bill Morneau in the 2019 federal election. She also ran unsuccessfully in an October 2020 byelection, losing to Liberal Marci Ien, who was re-elected tonight.

That contest took place about three weeks after Paul won the Green Party leadership race.

People’s Part of Canada leader Maxime Bernier has also lost the seat he was vying for in the Quebec riding of Beauce.

Bernier captured about 19.6 per cent of the vote there, but came second to Conservative candidate RIchard Lehoux, who has nearly half of the votes in that riding, with two thirds of the polls there reporting.

Bernier made a last minute stop in Calgary on Saturday, hoping to boost his party’s chances here.

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Few issues as Calgarians head to the polls

Calgarians headed out to the polls on Monday morning in the first election since the pandemic started 16 months ago.

Polling stations had social distancing measures in place and plenty of disposable pencils at the ready as citizens marked their ballots.

Polls opened at 7:30 a.m. in Alberta and closed at 7:30 p.m. There were no reports of major issues in terms of lineups or wait times.

Given the pandemic, many chose to vote at advance polls or by mail-in ballot. According to Elections Canada, 5.8 million Canadians cast a ballot at the advance polls, which was an 18.5 per cent increase over 2019.

However Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt said a higher turnout at advance polls does not have any correlation with higher turnout on election night. He said historically, voter turnout is lower during a pandemic.

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Elections Canada received almost one million mail-in ballots. Those ballots will not be opened and counted until Tuesday.

Pandemic puts damper on results parties

Restrictions on indoor gatherings that were brought in last Wednesday by the Alberta government made it difficult for candidates to gather with their supporters to watch election results come in.

The current provincial rules on gatherings limits apply to “private social gatherings” and limit outdoor groups to a maximum of 200 people, who must remain physically distanced by two metres at all times. Indoor social gatherings are all but impossible for a team of volunteers from different households.

Calgary Skyview Liberal candidate George Chahal held an outdoor event in his riding. However Calgary Centre Liberal Candidate Sabrina Grover planned to watch results come in with her family from a downtown hotel, as well as holding a virtual gathering with supporters. Calgary Centre Conservative candidate Greg McLean also planned a virtual event.

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