Federal incumbents hold onto Vancouver seats, Conservatives gain ground in the suburbs - Action News
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British Columbia

Federal incumbents hold onto Vancouver seats, Conservatives gain ground in the suburbs

There weren't a lot of major changes in Lower Mainland ridings on election night, though the Conservatives managed to snatch a number of seats from the Liberals in suburban ridings.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wins in Burnaby South; independent Jody Wilson-Raybould keeps seat

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh celebrates with returning MPs Peter Julian and Jenny Kwan after all three retained their seats in Monday's election. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

The Liberals and NDP held onto some key seats in Metro Vancouver on election night, while the Conservatives swept the Fraser Valley, taking back some seats lost four years ago.

The political map for the Lower Mainland turned outto be a colourful one, with blobs of orange, red and blue, plus just a hint of grey in Vancouver Granville, where former cabinet minister Jody Wilson-Raybould held onto her seat as an independent.

Overall, there were fewer changes on election night in the Lower Mainland than many other places in Canada: In 20of 26electoral districts, the incumbent party or candidate, in the case of Wilson-Raybould wereleading or elected, with a few close races going late into the night.

There were, however, a few suburban areas where voters decided to switch back to the Conservative Party, following a 2015 election where the Liberals won ridings in which they historically weren't competitive.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh kept his seat in Burnaby South, whileincumbent New Democrats Jenny Kwan, Don Davies and Peter Julian held onto theirs in the party's strongholds of Vancouver East, Vancouver Kingsway and New Westminster-Burnaby.

The Liberals kept their seats in Vancouver Centre,Vancouver Quadra, Vancouver South, North Vancouver, West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, Burnaby North-Seymour, Delta, Surrey Centre, Surrey-Newton, Fleetwood-Port Kellsand Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam.

Conservative incumbent Alice Wong won the riding ofRichmond Centre, while the Tories stole seats from the Liberals in South Surrey-White Rock, Cloverdale-Langley City and Steveston-Richmond East, and from the NDP in Port Moody-Coquitlam.

South Surrey-White Rock's Kerry-Lynne Findlay, who will be returning to Ottawa as a Conservative MP after a four-year absence, told CBC she's optimistic despite being inopposition for the first time.

"I know how to navigate in Ottawa.I know how to speak up for B.C. and the Lower Mainland," she said. "It's important that the people who go to Ottawa from as far away as we live, that they go with passion and energy."

Wilson-Raybould, at one time the Liberal justice minister, won Vancouver Granville after atight three-way race with her opponents in the Liberaland Conservative parties.

Conservatives sweep through Fraser Valley

Further east in the Fraser Valley, incumbent Conservatives were returned in Abbotsford, Langley-Aldergrove and Chilliwack-Hope.

The party also picked up seats from the Liberals inMission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon and Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge.

Supporters of independent candidate Jody Wilson-Raybould cheer at her election night celebration. The former Liberal cabinet minister is projected to retain her seat in Vancouver Granville. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)

Nationwide, the Liberals under Justin Trudeauheld on to just enough seats inAtlantic Canada, Quebec and Ontario to secure a minority government after a tight campaign that saw the two leading parties struggle to break out of the pack.

While final ballots are still being counted in several ridings, the Liberals are expected to win 156 seats and form a minority government.

With no single party holding a majority of votes in the House of Commons, longtime Vancouver Centre LiberalHedy Fry saidco-operation will be key for her party.

"We as Liberals have to be able to work with others who share our values and, of course, those values could be things like health care, mental health, addictions as a public health issue, housing, helping the middle class and helping get children out of poverty," she told CBC.

"If we can find people who share those values, we're prepared to work with anyone."

Read more B.C. election coverage:

With files from Justin McElroy and Clare Hennig