Mel Arnold was grateful and humble as early unofficial results rolled in on election night.
Two hours after polls closed in the riding, the Conservative Party candidate for the Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies was celebrating with family, friends and supporters at his Salmon Arm campaign office as early election results showed him in the lead with more than 50 per cent of the vote.
"Poll numbers are still coming in but it looks really strong," Arnold commented. "I want to thank everyone in the riding for their support, I want to thank the volunteers, all the families that gave up their family members to help on my campaign. I couldn’t do it without the incredible team of volunteers and the voters that turned out in record numbers at the advanced polls."
Despite the national election tally leaning towards a minority Liberal government, Arnold was upbeat and remains focused on serving his constituents.
Reflecting on his first federal political run in 2015, when he received 39.3 per cent of the vote, followed by then Liberal Cindy Derkaz with 29.95 per cent, Arnold said this time around it wasn't the same "nail-biting experience."
"I wasn’t sure of what was to come and what to expect," Arnold said. "This one has been invigorating because of the change in the boundaries. Fifty per cent of the population is new to me. I had to get out and get my name known all the way from Kamloops right through to the Alberta border. I wasn’t sure what to expect in those areas. That work isn’t over yet."
The riding's Liberal candidate, Ken Robertson, captured the second highest percentage of the vote (around 37 per cent as of 10 p.m., with 200 of 245 polls reporting). From his election night watch party in Kamloops, Robertson was reluctant to comment on the early results, but said it was "really short of a miracle" to see Liberal leader Mark Carney retain his seat at the party's helm.
Robertson emphasized he's navigated 32,000 square kilometres in a largely-Conservative riding, driving everywhere from Golden and Salmon Arm, to Enderby and Armstrong.
"My motto in my campaign was I don't want to leave anyone behind, no matter what stripe you're from," he said, noting the importance of "not just listening to people, but hearing people." He was also happy with voter turnout, saying "when we have huge turnout, we actually get to see the results."
Robertson noted he's known the Conservative for a decade, stemming from the farm Arnold had in Shuswap's Notch Hill.
Arnold noted a big difference this election, in this riding and through much of the country, was the decline in support for the NDP.
Support was certainly there for Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies NDP candidate Phaedra Idzan during her election-night gathering in Salmon Arm. While disappointed with the voting numbers (as of 10 p.m., Idzan had about 5.7 per cent of the vote), she was happy for Arnold who she's known for some 45 years – since Grade 9.
"There's no hard feelings at all," said Idzan, who hopes Arnold and the Conservatives will push the next four years for robust dental care and pharmacare, and ensure benefits such as these aren't taken away from more vulnerable people.
"I thank everyone for their support," Idzan said. "Maybe not the outcome we'd hoped for, but I'm proud of the work that we've done."
She acknowledged all the other four candidates for their "cordial" debate the other week, and for a good race.
Arnold also had kind words for his fellow candidates, including Michael Henry (People's Party of Canada) and Owen Madden (Green).
"It takes a lot of guts to put your name on a ballot, especially a federal ballot representing a riding this size," Arnold said. "Congratulations to them for having people behind them that supported that, their families and everything. It was an excellent campaign…"
Preliminary election results as of 8 a.m. Tuesday, April 29, showed the Liberals forming government with 168 seats (172 seats are needed for a majority), followed by the Conservatives with 144 seats. In the Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies riding, Arnold received 33,369 votes (52.2 per cent), followed by Robertson with 24,897 (38.9 per cent), Idzan with 3,500 (5.5 per cent), Green candidate Owen Madden had 1,613 votes (2.5 per cent) and People's Party of Canada candidate Michael Henry had 558 votes (0.9 per cent).
