Pierre Poilievre wins Battle River-Crowfoot by-election

By Kate Winquist

OYEN - The voters of Battle River-Crowfoot have made their choice. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has emerged victorious in the federal by-election that took place on Monday, August 18.

Poilievre established an early and commanding lead, and his victory was never in doubt in what many consider the safest Conservative riding in the country.

Pierre Poilievre was elected MP of Battle River-Crowfoot last week with over 80% of the vote. PHOTO BY KATE WINQUIST

With 285 out of 286 polls reporting (99.65%), Poilievre received 80.4% of the vote. Independent candidate Bonnie Critchley was a distant second with 9.9%, while the Liberal candidate, Darcy Spady, garnered only 4.3%.

Speaking to supporters in Camrose on Monday night, Poilievre stated, "This has been a privilege. Getting to know the people in this region has been the privilege of my life.”

Prime Minister Carney called the by-election in June following Conservative MP Damien Kurek's resignation, which allowed Poilievre to run for the seat. Poilievre had lost his long-held Ottawa seat of Carleton in April when Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy won in an upset.

Kurek resigned after he won the riding in April, securing approximately 82.8% of the vote.

The by-election featured a record 214 candidates, marking the largest number of candidates on a federal ballot in Canadian history. Most of these candidates were associated with a group of electoral reform advocates known as the Longest Ballot Committee, with many receiving only one vote or none at all.

Among the legitimate candidates were Poilievre, Liberal candidate Darcy Spady, NDP candidate Katherine Swampy, Jonathan Bridges from the People's Party of Canada, Ashley MacDonald from the Green Party, and Independent candidates Bonnie Critchley and Sarah Spanier.

Voter turnout was 58.82% or 50,434 of 85,736 registered electors (does not include electors who registered on election day.