The unofficial results are in; Conservative Shannon Stubbs will continue to represent the Lakeland as MP.
Stubbs won by a landslide in the Lakeland race, capturing over 44,600 of the local votes in the federal election on Monday, Oct. 21.
"I'm very grateful for the people of Lakeland for putting their trust and confidence in me for a second time to go back to Ottawa to keep fighting for them and our communities," Stubbs expressed.
This is Stubbs' second term as the Lakeland MP. She was first elected during the 2015 federal election.
Alongside her supporters, Stubbs celebrated the news at the Two Hills Senior Citizen Club.
"There's so many people who gave their personal time, drove miles and miles, door knocked on thousands of doors, put up signs, ran offices, and did countless things involved with running a campaign," she exclaimed.
Stubbs said her next steps are unwinding from the campaign and ironing out what a minority Liberal government will mean for the Conservative Party.
"We don't know yet when we're going back to Ottawa, and there will be a lot of preparation and planning now because of this minority situation," she explained. "We may be back in an election in a year and a half or two years from now, so the next couple of days will be figuring out when we're going back to Ottawa and there may be changes in the roles that we're all serving."
There were six names that joined Stubbs' on the Lakeland ballot. NDP candidate Jeffrey Swanson received 3,367 votes, Liberal Mark Watson had 2,276, People's Party of Canada candidate Alain Houle had 1,301, Green Party's Kira Brunner finished with 994, Robert McFadzean of the Libertarian Party had 231, and 134 votes went Veteran’s Coalition Party candidate Roberta Graham.
Out of the 78,525 registered voters in the Lakeland, roughly 52,388 cast their ballots in the 43rd general election.
Stubbs congratulated her fellow candidates on successful campaigns.
"I'm glad they put their names out there, and I think about their family and volunteer commitments. I'm glad that it was a respectful and good campaign."
Nationally, the unofficial results have a federal Liberal minority government with leader Justin Trudeau re-elected as prime minister. They hold 156 seats, followed by the Conservatives with 122. The Bloc Quebecois hold 32 seats, the NDP finished with 24, and four fell under the other category.
With a successful campaign behind her, Stubbs stressed the importance of representing her constituents.
"I have my marching orders loud and clear to go back to Ottawa and to keep working hard, day-in and day-out, to kick butt, and fight for all of us. I'm very grateful that they've given me that job once again."
