Brian Jean wins Fort McMurray-Athabasca riding

Brian Jean will return to Ottawa for his fourth term in office, and his first time as part of a majority government, after winning the Fort McMurray-Athabasca riding with over 70 per cent of the vote.

"I'm very excited about it,” he said of the majority, over the cheers of party faithful in the background as he spoke on the phone from his campaign headquarters in Fort McMurray.

Jean said he works hard for his constituency, and voters believe in what he does. He's up for the challenge of working in a majority government, and is grateful for the voter support.

For Jean, having a Conservative majority means accomplishing things they were unable to do as a minority government, like scrapping the long gun registry.

"We will be able to implement some things,” he said.

This has been Jean's strongest showing so far, with the 2008 election seeing him get 67 per cent of the vote.

NDP candidate Berend Wilting came in a distant second place, capturing under 15 per cent of the riding's vote soon after the polls closed, with under 3,000 votes. He avoided media interviews throughout the campaign, and didn't put signs up in Fort McMurray or Lac La Biche. He wasn't available for comment.

Liberal Candidate Karen Young was also unavailable for comment. She came in a close third to NDP candidate Wilting. Green candidate Jule Asterisk trailed in fourth place with under five per cent of the vote.

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