See a video of remarks by Conservative Rosemarie Falk, returned to her seat in Ottawa, on our twitter feed. Click here
Rosemarie Falk has run away with Battlefords-Lloydminster.
Her victory, in her re-election bid to be Member of Parliament for the riding, was nothing short of massive. With only a few advance votes left to count, results in the riding have Falk winning with a stunning 79 per cent of the vote with 27,784 votes. Marcella Pedersen of the NDP was running a distant second with 3,947, or 11.2 per cent; Larry Ingram of the Liberals was running third with 2,225 for 6.3 per cent, Jason MacInnis of the People's Party received 647 for 1.8 per cent, and David Kim-Cragg of the Green Party finished fifth with 586 votes for 1.7 per cent.
For Falk it was a far better showing than even her 2017 by-election win, when Falk took 69 percent of the vote. Her win Monday made history as the biggest landslide victory in Battlefords-Lloydminster since the riding was created in 1997. Her margin of victory was bigger than the population of the entire Battlefords put together, a staggering 23,837.
As big a margin as it was, it wasn't the biggest in the country. Some other Saskatchewan Conservative candidates managed to top 80 percent of the vote as the Conservatives racked up a massive victory in the province of Saskatchewan, sweeping all 14 ridings. Among the ridings that went Conservative was Regina Wascana where Liberal Ralph Goodale lost his seat after 26 years.
But the national results told a different story as Justin Trudeau and the Liberals took a minority government with 157 seats. The Liberals grabbed an early lead from the Atlantic returns and built on it with wins in Ontario and Quebec, and never looked back.
The national result meant Falk's election night gathering at the Sawmill restaurant in Lloydminster was a subdued one, as big-screen TVs relayed the election results from across the country.
Nevertheless, Conservatives in attendance were pleased with the size of Falk's victory, and the re-elected MP was happy with the strong show of support from voters.
"I'm very gracious and humbled for the support from the voters of Battlefords-Lloydminster to send me back to Ottawa to continue fighting for everything Conservatives said they were going to do," said Falk to reporters. "We're going to continue to fight for small businesses, for our farmers, for oil and gas workers, and also fight for lower taxes."
As for the scale of her local victory, Falk credited her campaign team, saying "we worked very hard". She also noted the result reflected what she heard at the door.
"People are sick and tired of Justin Trudeau and his lack of care for farmers and our oil and gas workers."
While there wasn't a lot of excitement about the national results from the Conservatives at the Sawmill, there was one high moment: a big cheer went up when the news flashed across the screen that People's Party leader Maxime Bernier had gone down to defeat. Bernier had quit the Conservatives following his leadership defeat to Andrew Scheer to form the new party.
When asked about whether this result meant the end of the People's Party, Falk said she couldn't comment on that, but did say "what it states is that Maxime Bernier left the Conservative Party with sour grapes because he didn't win the leadership. And I think it was just proved tonight by him not being able to hold on to his own seat."
On Tuesday, Falk issued a full statement about her election win. It reads as follows:
"Thank you to the voters of Battlefords-Lloydminster for the continued honour of being your Member of Parliament.
"Thank you to my family for their unwavering support. Thank you to everyone who volunteered, donated and took a lawn sign. Thank you to everyone who helped share our positive Conservative vision. And thank you to everyone who got out and voted.
"I do want to extend my congratulations to Larry Ingram, Marcella Pedersen, Jason MacInnis and David Kim-Cragg on their campaigns. Running for public office takes a lot of hard work. Despite our many policy differences, I respect their passion to serve our communities and conviction to participate in the democratic process.
"It has been an absolute pleasure to engage with so many voters in Battlefords-Lloydminster during the campaign. As I spoke to voters at their doors, in coffee shops, at forums and sometimes even at the side of the road – there was a consistent sense of urgency.
"An urgency to elect a government that was fiscally responsible, a government that would champion and support our local economies and a government that would help Canadians get ahead.
"The voters here in Battlefords-Lloydminster have spoken clearly. I am heading back to Ottawa with a strong mandate from voters in this riding. There is lots of work to do and I am up for the challenge. I am focused on being a strong voice for Canadian taxpayers, families and rural communities like ours."
