As Justin Trudeau's Liberals were handed a majority government in last week's federal election, there was also a red surge in the Bow Valley with Marlo Raynolds convincingly taking every poll.
As Justin Trudeau's Liberals were handed a majority government in last week's federal election, there was also a red surge in the Bow Valley with Marlo Raynolds convincingly taking every poll.
It was not enough for Raynolds to break through in the Tory stronghold of the Banff-Airdrie riding, with sitting MP Blake Richards keeping the seat he's held since 2008 with a strong base of Conservative support in Airdrie and Cochrane.
But the unofficial election results show Raynolds won 55 per cent of the popular vote in Banff, with a total of 1,865 votes, and 53.8 per cent of the vote in Canmore, with 2,768 ballots cast.
In Lake Louise, Raynolds captured 51.7 per cent of the vote with 181 votes, and in Exshaw and Lac Des Arc took 41.6 per cent of the vote with 102 ballots cast.
“I'm very excited to know we did well in the Bow Valley,” said Raynolds, who lives in Canmore. “The more challenging part was building a network and team in Cochrane and Airdrie. We made some inroads, but not enough to win the election here.”
Richards secured 848 votes in Banff, representing 25 per cent of the vote, and 1,635 votes in Canmore, taking 31.8 per cent of the vote. In Lake Louise, Richards had 61 votes, representing 17.4 per cent of the vote and in Exshaw and Lac Des Arc had 36.7 per cent of vote with 90 votes.
Even though he won his seat as the sitting MP, his voter share throughout the riding was also down compared to 2011, when he was elected with 74.64 per cent of the vote, or 43,488 ballots cast.
These unofficial election results do not include advanced polls for Canmore, as those were unavailable.
The NDP's Joanne Boissonneault had 441 votes in Banff (13 per cent), 467 votes in Canmore (9.1 per cent), 74 in Lake Louise (21.1 per cent) and 33 votes in Exshaw and Lake Louise (13.5 per cent).
Mike MacDonald of the Green Party had 228 ballots cast for him in Banff (6.7 per cent), 263 votes in Canmore (5.1 per cent), 33 votes in Lake Louise (9.4 per cent), and 18 votes in Exshaw and Lac Des Arcs (7.3 per cent).
In the Banff-Airdrie riding, the Liberal Party fared far better this election compared to 2011 when the Liberal candidate was former provincial court judge John Reilly. Reilly only received 6.71 per cent of the vote, or 3,909 votes.
Last week, Raynolds received 17,380 votes, or 26.1 per cent of the vote.
Raynolds said he believes the fact that Richards did not show up for local forums played a role in the sitting MP losing votes here, as well as the Conservatives' direction on national parks and protected areas.
But, he said, he believes the Liberals ran a much better campaign, with a strong, progressive platform to help small businesses and families, plus a promise to support science in national parks, allow scientists to discuss their research, and reinvest in park interpretation.
“I think when you're a member of parliament and seeking re-election and don't show up for local forums, that doesn't bode well for a lot of local voters,” said Raynolds.
“People expect access and to hear what your plans are. I think that probably played a factor, but quite frankly, we ran a better campaign, were very present, had a strong team, were very engaged, and people were keen to see what changed looked like.”
Canmore Mayor John Borrowman said he is not surprised by the results in the Bow Valley.
He also said he was disappointed Richards didn't bother to show up for either forum held in the Bow Valley, which sent a strong message to many voters in this region.
“This is a big riding and there's quite significant differences in issues and concerns from one end of the riding to the other. Clearly, Blake has strong support in the east end of the riding and he had a good handle on issues of primary importance to voters in that area,” he said.
“The message I got is the issues and concerns for the west end of the riding are not that important and clearly the polls show the disparate nature of the priorities in this part of the riding.”
Borrowman said he hopes Richards will take issues important to the Bow Valley to Ottawa.
“It's always better to have an MP who has a strong voice in Ottawa and given that Blake is now not with the government, as a backbencher it certainly deflates the strength of message coming from the Banff-Airdrie riding to Ottawa.”
Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen said she expected Raynolds to do well in Banff and Canmore.
“He campaigned very hard and very effectively and I think he earned a lot of votes in these communities,” she said.
Despite the fact Richards is no longer in government, Mayor Sorensen said she is still confident of a relationship with Ottawa.
“Because of our unique situation as a municipality on federal land, I always endeavour to create strong relationships through the MP, but also other relationships as mayor,” she said. “I'm sure Mr. Richards will do whatever he can to support us.”
Richards did not get back to the Outlook for an interview.
