Other parties gain ground to the conservatives in the federal leadership of Lethbridge – Lethbridge | The Canadian News

The political landscape looks very familiar to Lethbridge voters after Monday’s federal elections, both locally and nationally.

The Liberals won a second consecutive minority government.

In Lethbridge, conservative Rachael Harder will continue to represent horse riding in Ottawa.

“I don’t take this for granted. My team and I work very hard for that, so we are very excited about this victory, ”said Harder.

Harder won comfortably, securing nearly 56 percent of the vote. However, that was at least 10 percent lower than their conservative counterparts in the other three southern Alberta constituencies.

That’s also below its results in 2019, when it received 65.7 percent of the vote, with the NDP, the Liberals and the PPC improving on its results from two years ago.

Lethbridge University political sociologist Dr. Trevor Harrison says that reflects the political shift in the West.

“The urban ring roads are indicating that [change] and the Conservative Party may not be reaching out to groups of people, particularly millennials, as they have in the past, “said Harrison.

“I think it’s a warning for the party.”

NDP candidate Elaine Perez finished second, with more than 19 percent of the vote, and says the gains reflect different perspectives within the leadership.

“There are a lot of people here who believe in the NDP and the things it wants to do,” he said.

Third, Liberal candidate Devon Hargreaves says that while the outcome was not ideal, he believes there is an opportunity for future growth.

“We are hungry for a progressive voice in Ottawa, so it’s great to team up with like-minded people and make that an option on the ballot,” said Hargreaves.

Lethbridge’s biggest jump was for the PPC. Kimmie Hovan received 7.2 percent of the popular vote compared to Grant Hepworth, who received just 1.6 percent for the party in 2019.

The party topped the Greens with 5.1 percent of the national vote, qualifying them for the next federal leaders debate, but Harrison doesn’t think the party’s local momentum will continue.

“I think we can see this as … a pretty safe protest vote,” Harrison said.

“Conservatives in [southern Alberta] he still won by huge margins, so if he wanted to register a protest but didn’t want the Liberals to win, he could vote for the PPC and there is no loss there. “

In a video posted on his Facebook page, Hovan called the result an “astonishing achievement.”

“The support I received in such a short time was overwhelming,” said Hovan.

Independent candidate Kim Siever finished fifth with 1.9 percent of the vote, while Geoffrey Capp of the Christian Heritage Party finished with just one percent.

According to Elections Canada, with 254 of 255 polls reporting Tuesday afternoon, 62.9 percent of eligible voters cast their vote.

That’s less than in 2019, when voter turnout was 69.1 percent.