Independent Jody Wilson-Raybould wins tight Vancouver—Granville race
Credit to Author: Matt Robinson| Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2019 05:53:53 +0000
Independent Jody Wilson-Raybould held fast Monday to the seat in Parliament that she first won in 2015 for the Liberals, the party that later spurned her.
Wilson-Raybould fended off a challenge from her former party in the form of Taleeb Noormohamed. Wilson-Raybould sat in first with about 32 per cent of the riding’s votes, a rare feat for an independent candidate in a Canadian election.
Wilson-Raybould claimed her victory in front of 200-some supporters who had gathered at the Hellenic Community of Vancouver’s banquet hall for an election night party.
“Holy moly,” Wilson-Raybould said to great applause. “I am so happy to be standing here as the newly elected independent candidate for Vancouver—Granville.”
Wilson-Raybould said she would be “proud and pleased to work with all of the members of Parliament,” and she called for politicians to come together, collaborate and work across party lines “for four more years, or however long the minority government lasts.”
Supporters of Independent MP Jody Wilson-Raybould cheer her on at Hellenic Community of Vancouver Centre.
Noormohamed, a tech entrepreneur who last year made a brief bid for the Vision Vancouver nomination for mayor before pulling out citing health reasons, was ahead of Zach Segal, the Conservative candidate, for a second-place finish. He claimed almost 27 per cent of the vote.
It was not until more than a quarter of the riding’s polls had reported on election night that Wilson-Raybould’s supporters let out their first relieved cheer. The Independent had finally showed a positive result, having trailed both the Conservatives and Liberals through the early evening. The elation led to a brief dance party and much hooting and hollering that intensified through the night as Wilson-Raybould’s lead increased.
Segal, the Conservative, received about 22 per cent of the votes. Segal had previously worked as a policy adviser for the minister of national defence and press secretary for the transportation minister.
The NDP’s Yvonne Hanson held down the fourth spot for most of the night, taking around 13 per cent of the votes cast. Hanson is an environmental advocate and was one of the youngest candidates in the province at 24.
Louise Boutin, a realtor who ran with the Green party, placed fifth with around five per cent of the riding’s votes.
Boutin had a tough task in running against Wilson-Raybould, who could count among her supporters during this election none other than Green Leader Elizabeth May. May had appeared at a rally for Wilson-Raybould and Independent Jane Philpott in September.
Naomi Chocyk, the People’s Party of Canada candidate, who once served as a staffer for Wilson-Raybould, placed sixth, scratching together less than one per cent of the votes.
Wilson-Raybould served as attorney general and justice minister after she won the Vancouver—Granville seat in 2015, but she was later shuffled to a lesser cabinet role then booted from the party during the SNC-Lavalin scandal. Wilson-Raybould had alleged that the Prime Minister’s office had improperly pressured her concerning prosecution of the Quebec-based engineering firm on allegations of fraud and bribery. The ethics commissioner later found Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had acted improperly in the scandal.
Philpott, who was also booted from the Liberal party during the scandal, did not retake her Ontario seat Monday.
Early in Wilson-Raybould’s speech she spoke favourably of Philpott. “She was literally the best minister of the Crown that this country has ever seen. I know that Parliament will be lesser without her.”
Even without a party from which to pull resources, Wilson-Raybould pulled together 400-some volunteers and raised $200,000 during her campaign. In the end, it was enough to win the seat again, representing for the Liberals yet another layer of fallout from the SNC-Lavalin affair.
The Liberal party had crushed its competition in Vancouver-Granville in 2015, taking 44 per cent of the vote. The NDP and Conservative party came neck-and-neck in that election with about 26 per cent respectively. The Greens took a meagre three per cent.