Daniel Blaikie edges out Lawrence Toet by 51 votes in Elmwood-Transcona
Defeated Conservative incumbent would not immediately say if he'll seek recount
Blaikie defeated Conservative incumbent Lawrence Toet, but by a margin of just 51 votes. With all 187 polls reporting, Blaikie had 14,699 votes, while Toet had 14,648 votes.
"It feels pretty good to have taken that last Conservative seat away. I think there's going to be a lot of work to do in terms of holding the new Liberal government to account," Blaikie said late Monday night.
"I'll be pleased to be a part of the NDP caucus that is going to be doing that job."
Andrea Richardson-Lipon of the Liberals has 29.1 per cent of the vote, followed by Kim Parke of the Green Party with 2.4 per cent.
Elmwood-Transcona was once held by Blaikie's father, New Democrat Bill Blaikie, who was in office from 1979 until 2008.
"Well, they're big shoes to fill, and I watched someone do that job for a long time," the younger Blaikie said.
"I'm confident I can bring the same kind of representation people here are used to back to Elmwood-Transcona, and back to Ottawa."
Toet to decide on recount later
Toet, who had been vying for a second term in office, would not say if he will ask for a recount of the election results, but it's a matter he will discuss on Tuesday.
"We will sit down and we will analyze things tonight and tomorrow morning, and we will make our choice at what we have to do at that point in time. I'm not going to jump to any conclusions tonight," he said late Monday night.
"We will hold him to account that he works hard to represent the people of Elmwood-Transcona and make sure we continue to be a community and a riding that is not forgotten on the federal front, which was unfortunately the case for a long, long time, and he is going to have to make sure he steps up to the plate and gets the job done."
In the 2011 election, Toet unseated NDP incumbent Jim Maloway — also in a very close race. Both had 46 per cent of the vote, but Toet had 15,298 votes compared to 14,998 for Maloway.
"We knew it was going to be a tough fight again, we absolutely knew that. We had no illusions about that. We went out and we worked hard and had great support," Toet said on Monday.
"I know there are a lot of people in this community who are pleased with the work I have done for them. I have no regrets."