B.C. Conservative candidate Anna Kindy has won the North Island riding, marking the departure of an NDP stronghold riding since 2005.
With the final polls reporting around 11:30 p.m., Kindy received 13,896 votes, followed by former MLA NDP candidate Michele Babchuk with 13,215 and Green Party candidate Nic Dedeluk with 2,326 votes.
Campbell River Mirror reached out to Kindy through email, by telephone and on social media, but did not receive a response.
On her Facebook page late on Saturday evening, Kindy said she is honoured to accept the position of North Island Conservative MLA.
"I want to start by thanking John Rustad, and the Conservative Party of B.C. for believing in me and supporting me in this incredible journey," she wrote. "And to all the volunteers and supporters, I thank you! To the people of the North Island, thank you for trusting me with your vote. None of this would be possible without you."
Kindy said she promises to put the people of the North Island riding before the party.
"I will continue to be a strong voice for all. I will work tirelessly on the promises made during my campaign," she said. "Our work has only just begun."
Babchuk says her defeat is still sinking in.
The B.C. NDP has held the riding since 2005. Before Babchuk, Claire Trevena was the riding's NDP MLA.
"I think we've been able to do a lot for the North Island: new long-term care, new school, new affordable housing, the HEARTH Village," Babchuk said. "I think we've managed to get a lot of stuff up here, $30 million up north to stabilize the hospitals up there. At the end of the day, it wasn't enough."
Babchuk said she couldn't be prouder of the team behind her, and the campaign they ran.
"This is probably the closest race the North Island has seen for a long time with numbers that are just huge," Babchuk says. "The team I've had here is absolutely stellar, the team at head office is, I think, fantastic. I wouldn't have done anything different."
Dedeluk said she was "a little bit disappointed" by the results once the 2024 B.C. provincial election officially came to an end.
"I was hoping we would get more seats, I was hoping we'd get six, and I was definitely disappointed that Sonia (Furstenau) didn't get elected ... She ran in an NDP stronghold and that was a challenge for her, and I think it's a loss for the Green Party that she didn't get elected."
This was Dedeluk's first time running for office, and she said she wanted to say a "thank you to all the voters who voted for me and had confidence in me, I feel a little bit like I entered a Nascar race with a go-kart, but you know what, the go-kart made it across the finish line and that's pretty awesome."
As for the Conservative Party's Dr. Anna Kindy winning the North Island riding, Dedeluk said she was disappointed to see it happen.
"I would have liked to have had a stronger Green representation and I would have liked it to be an NDP representation."
