Federal election: Edmonton Center battlefield is still up in the air with special ballot count moving to Wednesday

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The close contest in the federal leadership of the Edmonton Center remains up in the air, as the counting of a record number of special ballots is expected to continue through Wednesday.

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As of Tuesday morning, Liberal candidate Randy Boissonnault had a very small 136-vote lead over Conservative incumbent James Cumming, with more than 2,200 special votes yet to be counted.

The special ballots that were sent in by voters who lived in their vehicles began to be counted on Tuesday morning across the country, but the results have not been finalized for the Edmonton-area constituencies as of press time. Elections Canada media adviser Leanne Nyirfa initially told Postmedia that the expectation was that most of the results would be reported by the end of the day on Tuesday, but later said the results of the closed races would likely not be released. know until Wednesday.

A record number of special, or mail-in ballots were issued in this election as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic which led to a longer verification process before the ballots could be counted to ensure residents had not cast their vote in person. Nyirfa said. In this election, more than a million vote-by-mail kits were issued to voters who lived inside their own vehicle and chose not to vote in person, a drastic increase from just 5,000 in 2019.

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“The count can only start after the verification process is complete. We have always said two to four days for the results to be published. With the numbers here in Alberta, we think two is more accurate, ”he said in a statement to Postmedia.

With mailed ballots still tabulated, Boissonnault said he is patiently awaiting the results and eager for more details Wednesday.

“We are very excited and very confident about what we have seen in the results so far,” he said on social media. “Thank you to all of those whose hard work has brought us here.”

If Boissonnault maintains the lead, he will be Edmonton’s only representative in the ruling Liberal party that won a minority Monday night.

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In response to Tuesday’s election results, Mayor Don Iveson said Edmonton would continue to be at a disadvantage without a voice at the cabinet table, or at least in government, as it has been since 2019.

“I am concerned about the prospect of the city not having a voice at the table again for several years in Ottawa at the cabinet level,” he said. “It has been a challenge for the city of Edmonton not to have that voice at the table.”

The races in two other Edmonton constituencies are still close enough mathematically to change hands on the special ballot count, but have been declared by the media. In Edmonton Griesbach, NDP challenger Blake Desjarlais was declared the winner by The Canadian Press with a 1,017-vote lead over two-term incumbent Kerry Diotte.

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Desjarlais did not speak to the media on Tuesday, but did issue a statement on social media about what the preliminary results show.

“I am deeply honored by the trust Edmonton Griesbach voters have shown in me and in the NDP,” he said. “I will always fight for you. I will always show up. “

Edmonton Mill Woods incumbent Tim Uppal was declared the winner Monday night with a healthy lead over liberal challenger Ben Henderson, but both candidates said the results were not final until the more than 2,700 votes sent by were counted. mail. On Tuesday, Uppal declared victory on social media. Henderson, a four-term city councilman from District 8, will return to his seat on city council until next month’s municipal elections.

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