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Byelections return Conservative and NDP MPs to Ottawa

Three Canadian byelections were won by the parties that already held the seats, though the Green Party came very close to stealing Victoria from the NDP.

In Victoria, which became vacant after the NDP's Denise Savoie stepped down citing health reasons, the counting was close through the evening with the NDP's Murray Rankin and the Green Party's Donald Galloway trading the lead. The Conservative and Liberal candidates trailed far behind.

It took until 10:25 p.m. for Rankin to move far enough ahead for the NDP to declare victory. At that point, with 206 of 256 polls reporting, Elections Canada had the results as follows:

11,349 (37 percent) Murray Rankin, NDP

10,540 (34.4 percent) Donald Galloway, Green Party

4,495 (14.7 percent) Dale Gann, Conservative

3,981 (13 percent) Paul Summreville, Liberal

155 (0.5 percent) Philip Ney, Christian Heritage Party *

150 (0.5 percent) Art Lowe, Libertarian

In Calgary Centre, where Conservative Lee Richardson quit to take a job working for Premier Alison Redford, Joan Crockatt narrowly beat the Liberal and Green Party candidates in what had been considered a safe seat at the start of the campaign:

10,201 (36.9 percent) Joan Crockatt, Conservative

9,034 (32.7 percent) Harvey Locke, Liberal

7,090 (25.6 percent) Chris Turner, Green Party

1,063 (3.8 percent) Dan Meades, NDP

121 (0.4 percent) Tony Prashad, Libertarian

And in Durham, the Ontario riding left vacant after cabinet minister Bev Oda resigned, the Conservative candidate won in a landslide:

17,281 (50.7 percent) Erin O'Toole, Conservative

8,947 (26.3 percent) Larry O'Connor, NDP

5,887 (17.3 percent) Grant Humes, Liberal

1,386 (4.1 percent) Virginia Ervin, Green

437 (1.3 percent) Andrew Moriarity, Christian Heritage Party

Voter turnout based on registered electors was 29.4 per cent in Calgary, 35.8 per cent in Durham and headed for over 40 per cent in Victoria.

* Typo corrected.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee's Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Find him on Twitter or reach him here.


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