Wild Rose will remain Tory blue after Conservative incumbent Blake Richards swept his way to a second term in office, May 2.
Richards ran away with the vote in his riding, scoring about 74.7 per cent support, as his party won its first-ever majority government.
The 36-year-old from Airdrie had a slightly easier competition than in 2008. NDP stalwart Jeff Horvath finished second with 11.3 per cent while political neophyte Mike McDonald of the Green Party was third with seven per cent.
Former judge John Reilly of the Liberal Party earned 6.7 per cent support and Randy Vanden Broek of the Christian Heritage Party was a distant fifth with 181 votes, or 0.3 per cent.
“We will obviously be able to have the opportunity to move forward with what we want to see done with this country,” said Richards following his victory. “To be able to work on the economic recovery and see that through, keep taxes low and get tough on crime. I know that’s one thing I’ve worked on personally. We’ve had a lot of challenges with that dealing with minority Parliament.”
His support was slightly higher than in 2008, when he won with 73 per cent.
“I said I wanted to be a voice for the people, I wanted to take their concerns forward and speak on their behalf,” said Richards. “It’s what I’ve tried to do for the last two-and-a-half years and that’s exactly what I’ll continue to do.”
Looking ahead, Richards said his top priority is the economy.
“That’s No. 1,” he said. “I’ve also heard the message that we need to get tougher on crime, making sure that victims’ rights are protected and making sure that the streets are safe.”
Many thought Reilly would present a strong challenge to Richards, but he finished a distant fourth with his agenda of fighting mandatory minimum sentences.
Despite a disappointing result both locally and federally for the party, Reilly said he enjoyed the process.
“I’ve generated a tremendous team of people that have supported me,” said Reilly from his headquarters in Canmore. “It’s been an experience for me.”
Reilly found himself in hot water only weeks into his campaign after making controversial remarks on The Rutherford Show, April 7.
Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff called the comments disgraceful and Reilly failed to gain much ground after that.
Reilly’s radio candor didn’t affect his bottom line in Conservative country, according to University of Calgary political scientist Tom Flanagan.
“He’s a better candidate than most of what the Liberals have been able to find,” said Flanagan. “But he has no actual experience in politics, a bit of a loose cannon and not an ideal candidate from a conventional politics standpoint.”
Albertans generally oppose the Liberals, said Flanagan, pointing to the history books and the country’s national energy program.
“Until something changes, Liberal candidates will just go through the motions,” said Flanagan. “As far as winning — if you want to win — don’t run in southern Alberta as anything but Conservative.”
Horvath called the election “momentous.”
“I’m very proud to be in second place,” said Horvath. “From a riding perspective, I was aware of the challenges.”
Horvath said he is looking forward to the NDP being the new Official Opposition party in Canada and keeping the Conservatives in check.
Unofficial results from Canada’s 41st general election:
Wild Rose
• Conservative, Blake Richards, 43,588 votes, 74.7%
• NDP, Jeff Horvath, 6,603 votes, 11.3%
• Green, Mike MacDonald, 4081 votes, 7%
• Liberal, John Reilly, 3,909 votes, 6.7%
• CHP, Randy Vanden Broek, 181 votes, 0.3%
• Voter turnout: 58,362 valid votes cast, 61.5%
Canada
• Conservative, 5.8 million votes, 39.6%, 167 seats
• NDP, 4.5 million votes, 30.6%, 102 seats
• Liberal, 2.8 million votes, 18.9%, 34 seats
• Bloc Québécois, 890,000 votes, 6%, 4 seats
• Green Party, 575,000 votes, 3.9%, 1 seat
• Independents, 63,000 votes, 0.4%, 0 seats
• Turnout: 14.7 million valid votes, 61.4%
