Conservative incumbent Marc Dalton appears to have defended his seat as MP for the Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge riding.
On election night, Dalton gave a speech in which he thanked his supporters, campaign workers, and his wife Marlene at the party headquarters on the Lougheed Highway in downtown Maple Ridge. But he admitted there were still enough outstanding votes that his lead over Liberal Angie Rowell was not as safe as he would like it to be.
He had a healthy lead of eight to nine percent most of the night, and just after 11 p.m., with 208 of 251 polls reporting, he had 15,666 votes to Rowell's 12,870, and 50.6 per cent of the vote to Rowell's 41.6 per cent. Some media outlets had called the riding for him, and he called the outlook "very promising."
The gap closed significantly by Tuesday afternoon, with Dalton at 31,556 votes and 47.4 per cent, to Rowell's 30,130 votes and 45.2 per cent. The results are considered preliminary, and will be validated on Friday afternoon. There are still more than 3,300 votes to be counted, according to the Conservative campaign, but Dalton said his lead appears safe.
It was strictly a two-horse race, as the NDP was decimated nationally on the night, and local candidate Daniel Heydenrych garnered just 6.2 per cent of the vote at 4,097. Rhinocerous Party candidate Peter Buddle 456 votes, and People's Party of Canada candidate Chris Lehner had 372, and both less than one per cent of the votes.
Nationally, the Liberal Party is leading or elected in 169 seats, Conservatives 144, Bloc Quebecois 22, NDP just 7, and Green Party 1.
Dalton said the Liberals will form "a very weak minority government."
"I'm anticipating there'll be an election in a year and a half," he predicted.
Watching the results in the Dalton camp was Senator Yonah Martin, who has moved to Pitt Meadows. She was appointed to the senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2009, and since 2015 has served as the deputy leader of the opposition in the Senate.
"It's a bit of nailbiter for me," she said, "watching the numbers fluctuate and seeing my colleagues – most of them have been re-elected but some have not – knowing that I won't be seeing them... it's been emotional for me."
She is in the Senate, whose members are not elected, but is part of the national caucus.
"I work very closely with Marc Dalton, he's our caucus chair for B.C.," she said. "I'm as much a part of the national caucus as I am the senate."
"I would have loved to have seen a victory for us. It looks like we're holding the Liberals to a minority government," said Martin. "I am disappointed because of the work that we've done to this point."
She said the poll numbers were dramatically different until just before the election, when voters' focus switched from the country's issues of a decade of Liberal governance to tariffs, sovereignty and the relationship with the U.S.
"I'm proud of my MP Marc Dalton," Martin added. "He's been a great B.C. caucus chair, he's a leader in Ottawa, and I know he's worked so hard. I'm anticipating his reelection as well."
Dalton's supporters were looking to celebrate as they watched the election results, cheering each time Dalton appeared on big screen, right from the first poll that showed him up 51 votes to 32 for Rowell.
He called them "an amazing, amazing team" of some 200 workers.
"I want to say thank-you to the electors of Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and Mission for voting for me," he said. "It looks like I'm over 50 per cent, which is a big jump from when I was at 37 per cent last time, and it's been a tremendous honour to serve them in this capacity over the years."
Many of the Conservative scrutineers, canvassers and sign teams gathered for the event. Ricardo and Sharra Zenteno said they got involved with the party for the first time after meeting Dalton as a neighbour.
"He was so personable, and easy to talk to," said Sharra.
"And he speaks Spanish," added Ricardo.
They talked to people on their doorsteps about the election, as party representatives, and said 90 per cent of the time it was positive interactions. It left an impression on the couple.
"I think this is a very, very important election," said Sharra. "Moreso than before, because of what's going on between the U.S. and Canada."
Dalton said they were part of a strong "ground game" for his team, that included a group of teen boys who volunteered in the election as well.
"You guys rock," Dalton told the young men. "The energy you guys brought – it's been amazing having you."
He said getting youth involved in the party is important.
"People want hope, and people want a future."
Voters appeared to put more importance on the election. In 2021 the voter turnout in the riding was 64.4 per cent, but it jumped to 71.4 per cent this time. There were 66,611 votes cast, out of 93,234 registered electors.
Nationally, voter turnout was 68.7 per cent.
