Election 2008: Tories feel the love of their western ‘comfort zone’

Conservative campaign co-chair David Emerson told The Canadian Press that the Conservatives’ win in B.C. was historic.

“I think we’re now starting to build that comfort zone with the Canadian people,” Emerson told CP.

Gary Lunn, the federal minister of natural resources, easily won his seat again for the fifth time.  He remains optimistic about this minority government.

“I think this will last,” Lunn told CTV News. “We will work with the other parties.”

Stockwell Day, Chuck Strahl and Jay Hill, the other three B.C.-based cabinet members were also re-elected.

Overall, the Conservatives gained five new seats in BC, the Liberal party lost four and the NDP lost one.

One important win for the Conservatives occurred in Richmond, an upper-income, well-educated riding.

Richmond is and has been a Liberal riding since the 2004 election. Tuesday evening, Alice Wong, the conservative candidate beat Liberal incumbent Raymond Chan. With 177 polls out of 207 reporting Wong was leading Chan 17,769 votes to 11,164 votes.

About this article

By: Katherine Wellman
Posted: Oct 16 2008 5:26 pm
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Filed under: News