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The Observer | Saturday, October 18, 2008
Kings come up short, falling to Waterloo in midweek battle.................... »21 comic Derek edwards at cItS
»22 VOLUME 13, ISSUE 42
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2008
www.ObserverXtra.com
PRICELESS
» FEDERAL ELECtIoN 2008
Albrecht retains seat in landslide MARC MIQUEL HELSEN & JONI MILTENBURG What was touted to be a close race was anything but, as Conservative Harold Albrecht cruised back into his seat as MP for Kitchener-Conestoga Tuesday night. Albrecht took almost half of the ballots cast in Tuesday night’s federal election. His 23,525 votes easily outstripped Liberal candidate Orlando Da Silva’s 11,876 votes (24.9 per cent of the 47,698 total ballots). Rod McNeil of the NDP earned 7,173 (15 per cent) and Jamie Kropf of the Green Party got 5,124 (10.7 per cent). Albrecht returns to Ottawa as part of another minority Conservative government, albeit one that sees an increase in its seat total. The Conservatives won 143 seats (up from 127), the Liberals 76 (a drop of 19), NDP 37 and the Bloc Quebecois 50. There were two independents elected. Voter
turnout was an all-time low 59.1 per cent. “To be honest, I expected the race to be much closer – absolutely,” said a jubilant Albrecht Tuesday night, his voice drowned out by the chatter and chants of his boisterous supporters at the Edelweiss Tavern in Kitchener. Already energetic when Albrecht was declared triumphant on national television at around 10p.m., the crowd of supporters ripped into boisterous applause a while later when the re-elected MP entered the building. In an election campaign that was eventually dominated by talk of a faltering global economy, it was a combination of his party’s work on a national scale, and his own efforts locally, that tipped the scales in his favour for a second mandate, Albrecht later explained. “There’s a number of factors and I certainly would be dishonest if I were to take all See ALBRECHT page »02
photo | MARC MIQUEL hELSEN
Incumbent cruises to victory as region goes blue despite forecasts of tight races, Liberal surge
BACK TO OTTAWA Conservative harold Albrecht was all smiles after being re-elected handily in Kitchener-Conestoga tuesday night. Supporters, family and friends gathered at the Edelweiss tavern in Kitchener to celebrate.
Minority government means more speculation Liberal downfall in region part of Ontario collapse; Conservatives now face economic battle JONI MILTENBURG Conservative Harold Albrecht’s re-election in Kitchener-Conestoga was part of a wider election trend that left southern Ontario blanketed in blue, with only a few patches of Liberal
red and NDP orange. Albrecht’s margin of victory was much wider than expected, but even supposedly safe Liberal ridings went to the Tories. The Liberals lost 16 seats in Ontario, with 11 of them going to the Conservatives. In Kitchener-Centre,
Karen Redman wasn’t able to hang on to the seat she’s held since 1997, losing to Conservative Stephen Woodworth by just 339 votes. The margin was even smaller in Kitchener-Waterloo, where veteran Andrew Telegdi lost his hold on the seat he’s occupied for
15 years. The unofficial results showed Conservative Peter Braid took the riding by a mere 73 votes. Nationally, the Conservatives picked up an additional 16 seats, increasing their count to 143 seats, still well short of the 155 needed for a
majority. The Liberals slipped to 76 seats, down 19 from the 2006 election. The NDP took 37 and the Bloc Quebecois 50. Two seats went to independents. The Green party captured 6.8 per cent of the popular vote but wasn’t able to turn that into seats.
At 59.1 per cent, voter turnout was an all-time low for a federal election. In Kitchener-Conestoga, only 56.4 per cent of registered voters headed to the polls. The low voter turnout means Stephen Harper’s Conservatives had See MINORITY page »08