Brian Pallister was jubilant celebrating in Winnipeg. His Progressive Conservative party (PC) took at least 35 seats to form a strong majority. The PCs lost four or five seats from their historic 2016 victory, but their effort was still enough to form government.
While dropping some key seats in the legislature, they still dominated the popular vote. The PCs nearly took a majority of voters in the province again, and ended the night taking 48 per cent of ballots cast.
“The sky used to be dark, but the clouds will lift, perhaps not tomorrow or the day after, but they will lift and there will be a new day,” Pallister said in his victory speech.
“It will be a brighter day and it will be under a blue sky, I say to you, because of your dedication, and because of the values that Manitoba has demonstrated today and choosing forward.”
Pallister had come under fire for calling an early election, but the Conservatives will be in government for, at minimum, four more years.
Flin Flon was the final electoral district to have polling results posted publicly, but the NDP’s Tom Lindsey eventually overcame a strong challenge from PC candidate in Theresa Wride.
Wride, who lives in Flin Flon and grew up in Norway House, was nearly 800 votes behind Lindsey as the vote counting wound down. Wride had a tall mountain to climb – Flin Flon has been represented to the NDP for over 50 years.
Reactions from local candidates will come later tonight on www.thereminder.ca.
