Federal Election 2015: Liberal Sean Casey holds seat in Charlottetown

Liberal Sean Casey has held onto his seat in the federal riding of Charlottetown.

Although results won't be made official for several days, CBC News has declared Casey the winner with more than 56.3 per cent of the votes.

I thought there would be a strong tide. I didn't think there'd be a tsunami.- Liberal Sean Casey

"Welcome to the Trudeau years," Casey told his supporters. "A Liberal tide has swept the region."

Casey took the seat in P.E.I.'s only urban riding in 2011 as a rookie with nearly 40 per cent of the popular vote.

"The difference is huge.In 2011, we were swimming into the tide. In 2011, there were only two Liberals in all of Canada elected for the first time. I was one of them. This time, the tide is at our backs and it's extremely strong," said Casey.

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The national campaign was a "huge help" this year, where it was a "hindrance" in 2011, Casey told CBC News.

"Justin Trudeau embodies the change people had been craving. So I think this is a historic night, I really do.
I did expect we would do well. I'm a little surprised we did this well. I thought there would be a strong tide. I didn't think there'd be a tsunami. That's what happened."

Supporters say they predicted Casey's win but never imagined a Liberal sweep in the Atlantic region.

'The tide was rolling against us'

NDP candidate Joe Byrne, who trailed with 23.1 per cent of the votes, was cheerful despite his defeat.

The swing from the Tories to the Liberals is just amazing.- NDP candidate Joe Byrne

"We have a great bunch of volunteers and we had a clear message out at the doors every day, and listening to voters and talking to voters," he said.

"So I'm pretty happy with that. I think some of this was the national trend and outside of our control ... The tide was rolling against us and it was rolling towards the Liberals."

Byrne said the results throughout Atlantic Canada were pretty stunning to watch.

"My first reaction is that the swing from the Tories to the Liberals is just amazing," he said. "It's tough to watch some good MPs go down, but when the wave hits, that's what happens."

Conservative Ron MacMillan took 14.8 per cent of the vote, and the Green Party's Becka Viau about 5.8 per cent.

'Atlantic provinces left behind'

Casey served as federal veterans affairs critic and associate justice critic in Parliament.

Casey said during the campaign that ending Stephen Harper's reign was the most important issue for the riding. The "Atlantic provinces in general have been left behind," he said.

He vowed to reverse Conservative changes to employment insurance and invest $300 million more in Veterans Affairs.

Byrne ran again in Charlottetown after finishing in 2011 with 25 per cent of the popular vote, eight per cent behind Conservative Donna Profit a respectable showing for Byrne considering P.E.I.'s two-party political history.

Since the last election, he said he was building toward a win by establishing roots in the community, getting the message out and building a volunteer base.

Byrne, who currently works for the P.E.I. Association for Newcomers to Canada, said he wanted to address poverty in Charlottetown, support small businesses to create jobs, increase guaranteed income supplement to help lift some seniors out of poverty and develop an affordable housing strategy.

A lawyer by trade, MacMillan served provincially from 1999 to 2007 in the Pat Binns government as deputy attorney general and deputy minister of community services. He then moved to the Yukon where he was deputy minister of both justice and community services before returning to P.E.I. two years ago.

Green candidate Becka Viau turned her attention to federal politics after running in the 2015 provincial election this spring. Her campaign focus was on poverty and a guaranteed livable income.

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