Manitoba PC Leader Heather Stefanson holds on to seat in tight race as last election results come in

Manitoba's outgoing premier, Heather Stefanson, has narrowly held on to her legislature seat for the Progressive Conservatives.

Stefanson had just 263 more votes than the NDP's Larissa Ashdown in the Tuxedo riding, according to unofficial Elections Manitoba results released around 3 p.m. Thursday.

Stefanson has held the Winnipeg riding since 2000.

The outgoing premier announced her intention to step down as leader of the PC party in a concession speech after the NDP won a majority government in Tuesday's provincial election. She intends to remain as interim leader until a race is held to replace her, likely in 2024.

Stefanson became Manitoba's first woman premier when she took the job after Brian Pallister stepped down in fall 2021.

Tuxedo was one of seven races that were too close to call on Tuesday night, along with Brandon West, Dauphin, Lagimodière, McPhillips, Selkirk and Waverley.

The unofficial results released Thursday show four of those ridings have flipped from the Progressive Conservatives to the NDP, leaving the incoming government with a majority of 34 seats.

The PCs will be the Official Opposition, with 22 seats, and the Liberals hold the remaining seat.

2 more cabinet ministers lose seats

In Winnipeg's Waverley riding, PC cabinet minister Jon Reyes has been unseated by the NDP's David Pankratz.

Reyes was first elected as MLA for St. Norbert in 2016 and won Waverley in 2019.

Another PC cabinet minister, Andrew Smith, has been unseated by the NDP's Tyler Blashko in Lagimodière.

Smith won the Winnipeg riding in 2019, and served as the cabinet minister responsible for the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation in the Stefanson government. 

Lagimodière was created in the 2018 riding redistribution to accommodate significant growth in Sage Creek.

Wayne Balcaen, who retired as Brandon's chief of police earlier this year, claimed a narrow win for the PCs in the Brandon West riding, finishing just 98 votes ahead of his NDP challenger.

Brandon West has been held by the PCs since 2011. Prior to that, it flipped between PC and NDP representatives.

Quentin Robinson, the NDP candidate in Brandon West, told CBC he doesn't intend to ask for a recount of votes in the tight race.

Recounts are automatically triggered if the difference in votes between the winner and the second-place candidate is less than 50, according to Elections Manitoba. If the difference is more than that, a judicial recount is only done if a candidate applies for one.

The Progressive Conservatives also held on to the Selkirk seat, which was won by Richard Perchotte. That riding had no incumbent, after PC cabinet minister Alan Lagimodiere announced that he would not seek re-election earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the NDP's Ron Kostyshyn won the Dauphin riding and Jasdeep Devgan took McPhillips for the party. Both of those ridings were previously held by PC MLAs who did not seek re-election this year.