Battleground Edmonton: Mayor defeated as 2 city core ridings avoid blue surge

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On a night when Mayor Amarjeet Sohi went down to defeat, two Edmonton ridings avoided a swell of support for the Conservatives to stay in the hands of their incumbent parties.

Conservative Jagsharan Singh Mahal will represent Edmonton Southeast, CTV News declared Monday evening, after the lawyer took down Liberal hopeful Sohi, who had stepped down temporarily from the mayor’s chair to run federally.

“This is not the result that we expected, but this is the result that we accept,” Sohi told supporters at his election night rally at The Royal Palace on the city’s east end. “People make decisions. They elect you, and sometimes, they do not elect you. That is what democracy is all about.”

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The 61-year-old Sohi, who was elected mayor in 2021, was an Edmonton Liberal MP for five years and served as a cabinet minister before being defeated in the 2019 federal election. Before that, the former transit driver was an Edmonton city councillor from 2007-15.

In Edmonton Centre, Eleanor Olszewski has retained Liberal reign in the core riding, narrowly beating Conservative hopeful Sayid Ahmed, while incumbent NDP MP Heather McPherson holds onto Edmonton Strathcona after early results had Conservative Miles Berry in a close south-central race.

“We’re going to be pushing the Liberal government to make sure that they actually adhere to the promises they’ve made to Canadians, that they protect everyday Canadians,” McPherson told her supporters at Cite Francophone.

“I’m not interested in a banker giving tax breaks to billionaires. I’m much more interested in how we’re making life more affordable for Canadians in this city, in this province and this centre.”

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But Conservative candidates won seven of the nine city ridings, including Kerry Diotte, who handily beat NDP incumbent Blake Desjarlais in Edmonton Griesbach, a race that was expected to be close. Diotte had represented the northside riding for two terms before Desjarlais beat him in the 2021 vote.

After his Monday night victory, Diotte told CTV News Edmonton that he and his hard-working team “did a lot of door knocking” over the last two years to reach as many supporters as possible.

“I think that makes a difference,” the 69-year-old Diotte said. “We had more volunteers this campaign than I’ve had in 2015 and 2019 and 2021.”

Edmonton Centre

Liberal Eleanor Olszewski won the core riding, which had been expected to be a close race. According to Elections Canada Tuesday morning, Olszewski won 44.2 per cent of the vote with 186 of 187 polls reporting, while Conservative Sayid Ahmed captured 38.1 per cent of it. The NDP’s Trisha Estabrooks scored 15.5 per cent of ballots.

“Just based on what we heard at the doors, and especially after advanced polling, we never really thought it was a three-way split,” Olszewski told CTV News Edmonton later in the evening. “I think we got votes from some conservatives who were not happy with the party, and from some NDP, as well.”

She called the victory “deeply personal,” having built her career and raised her family in Edmonton Centre, and promised to serve the district with integrity and responsibility.

“I really believe that (Mark Carney) has bold and a pragmatic vision for the future of this country, and I know that he wants to protect our sovereignty and grow our economy and make sure that our families and workers and seniors and students are taken care of, and I just I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get to work on his team.”

• ‘It could go either way’: Vote-splitting real possibility in Edmonton Centre

Edmonton Gateway

Conservative candidate Tim Uppal won the election in this new southeast riding with 138 of 157 polls reporting. Uppal, the incumbent in the former Edmonton Mill Woods riding, earned 50.9 per cent of the vote. Liberal hopeful Jeremy Hoefsloot collected 36.7 per cent of the vote while the NDP’s Madeline Mayes collected 5.1 per cent.

Edmonton Griesbach

Kerry Diotte won the riding he lost four years ago. The Conservative will return to the House of Commons, CTV News declared, with Diotte capturing 46.7 per cent of the vote with 164 of 188 polls reporting. He defeats NDP incumbent Blake Desjarlais, who won 32.5 per cent of ballots cast, while Liberal hopeful Patrick Lennox took 18.5 per cent of them.

• Edmonton Griesbach shaping up as multi-candidate showdown in 2025 federal election

Edmonton Manning

CTV News declared Ziad Aboultaif of the Conservatives the winner in this northeast riding. Aboultaif won 53.1 per cent of ballots cast with 132 of 142 polls reporting. Blair-Marie Coles took 35.4 per cent of the votes while Lesley Thompson of the NDP received 10 per cent.

Edmonton Northwest

Former Enoch chief Billy Morin of the Conservatives won the riding, according to CTV News. Morin collected 53.5 per cent of the vote with 195 of 206 polls reporting. Liberal Lindsey Machona took 38.3 per cent of the ballots while the NDP’s Omar Abubakar had 6.6 per cent of them.

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Edmonton Riverbend

Conservative incumbent Matt Jeneroux was re-elected in the southwest riding with 170 of 182 polls reporting, CTV News decided. Jeneroux won 50.1 per cent of the vote while Liberal Mark Minenko garnered 44.6 per cent of it.

Edmonton Southeast

Conservative hopeful Jagsharan Singh Mahal defeated Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi of the Liberals with 144 of 159 polls reporting, CTV News declared. Mahal captured 53.6 per cent of the vote while Sohi collected 36.3 per cent of ballots cast.

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Edmonton Strathcona

Two-time incumbent Heather McPherson of the NDP won re-election with 183 of 217 polls reporting, taking 46.3 per cent of the vote in the south-central riding. Conservative hopeful Miles Berry collected 33.3 per cent of them, while Liberal Ron Thiering earned 18.4 per cent of ballots cast.

Edmonton West

Conservative incumbent Kelly McCauley is the winner, CTV News declared, with 206 of 207 polls reporting. He won 53.6 per cent of the vote, while Liberal challenger Brad Fournier took 39.8 per cent of them and the NDP’s Sean McQuillan 5.4 per cent.

• Incumbent McPherson looms large for federal NDP

Around the city

• Leduc-Wetaskiwin: Conservative incumbent Mike Lake was declared the winner by CTV News.
• Parkland: Dane Lloyd won in a landslide for the Conservatives in this riding immediately west of Edmonton.
• Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan: Garnett Genuis, the Conservative incumbent, won re-election, CTV News said.
• St. Albert-Sturgeon River: Incumbent Michael Cooper of the Conservatives rolled convincingly to re-election.

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