‘Something very different’
Clark, Thomson, Letnick retain seats in close race between Liberals, NDP ‘Team Okanagan’ Liberals cruise to victory as fortunes of party less certain
All members of “Team Okanagan” cruised to an early and solid victory last night, but they had to wait nervously to learn the fortunes of their party.
Kelowna-Lake Country Liberal Norm Letnick was the first provincial politician to be declared re-elected, an announcement that drew loud cheers from hundreds of people gathered at the Coast Capri Hotel to watch results come in.
Letnick won 59 per cent of the vote, up slightly from his total in the 2013 election.
Kelowna-Mission Liberal Steve Thomson also easily won re-election, winning 57 per cent of the vote, the same as in 2013.
Liberal Leader Christy Clark scored a decisive victory in Kelowna West with 58 per cent of the vote, but she was not at the Coast Capri Hotel. Instead, she planned to appear at Liberal campaign headquarters in Vancouver once the election’s final results were known.
At the Coast Capri, a jubilant mood shortly after polling results began to appear had many expecting broadcasters to declare a Liberal majority.
“Christy Clark knows how to win elections!” the evening’s MC shouted from the stage.
But as more poll results came in and the race tightened provincewide, the crowd became quieter and more focused on watching individual riding results.
Expecting a Liberal victory, Letnick said voters were persuaded by Clark’s core message that the provincial economy was in good shape and the envy of Canada.
“We are leading the country in so many ways, but we have a lot of work to do. And the best way to ensure that work gets done is to expand the economy, not contract it, not raising taxes that scare away investment,” Letnick said.
Asked what priorities he had personally for the next four years, Letnick said reforming party financing and expanding daycare were near the top of his list.
During the past four years, the Liberals touted Letnick, Thomson and Clark as “Team Okanagan,” and referred to what they said was hundreds of millions of dollars in public-sector investment through the Kelowna area.
Speaking to reporters after he was declared elected to a third term, Thomson said voters recognized and appreciated that investment, as well as what he said was the Liberals’ responsible stewardship of the economy.
“It (the victory) demonstrates what we’ve been able to do for this community, in terms of bringing benefits that were recognized,” Thomson said. “I’m going to continue my hard work that I’ve demonstrated over the past eight years to bring those benefits to our region.
“We want to continue to advance economic growth in the province,” Thomson said. “We’ve been leading the country in job creation, and we’re going to continue to move forward with that with responsible resource development.”
Cribbing a line used by Clark when she first ran in a Kelowna riding four years ago, Thomson said the Central Okanagan was the “cradle of free enterprise in British Columbia.”
In the crowd of Liberal supporters was Gunnar Forsstrom, who once supported the NDP provincially. He said he switched parties after becoming disenchanted with the NDP and coming to believe the centre-right coalition headed by the Liberals also had room for “old lefties like me.”
Another Liberal supporter was Rusty Ensign, a Westside businessman and city councillor. Asked why he supported the Liberals, Ensign said: “I was born and raised in the heart of free enterprise. I’ve signed a lot of paycheques for other people, not just cashed my own.”