Tories hang on to Spruce Woods in close byelection

CTV’s Jeff Keele recaps the Spruce Woods byelection, which the PCs won by only 70 votes.

It appears the Manitoba Conservatives will retain a seat long considered a Tory stronghold, fending off an NDP stronghold by less than 100 votes.

Manitobans headed to the polls Tuesday for a byelection in Spruce Woods.

According to the Elections Manitoba website’s unofficial results, Conservative candidate Colleen Robbins clinched 2,805 votes, while NDP challenger Ray Berthelette followed closely with 2,735 votes.

Liberal candidate Stephen Reid trailed in a distant third with 444 votes.

All election day and advance polling places were reported, Elections Manitoba said, adding official results will be available Wednesday.

Voter turnout came in at 40 per cent.

The seat has been vacant since March, when Grant Jackson resigned to run for the federal Conservatives in the April general election.

The Opposition has never received less than 60 per cent of the vote in Spruce Woods.

However. the governing New Democrats were riding high in province-wide opinion polls and have made a series of promises and announcements in the area.

The outcome of the vote won’t affect the NDP’s majority in the legislature, where the party has 34 of the 57 seats to the Tories’ 20.

- With files from The Canadian Press