CALGARY – The federal Conservatives have emerged victorious in the Calgary Heritage byelection held on Monday to fill the vacant seat left by MP Bob Benzen, who resigned last year.
Bob Benzen, who was elected to represent the area in 2017, had announced his decision to step down from his position in Calgary Heritage and return to private life at the end of the previous year.
Calgary Heritage was previously part of the Calgary Southwest riding, which was held by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper until his retirement.
Shuvaloy Majumdar, a former policy adviser to Stephen Harper and former Conservative foreign minister John Baird, dominated the voting with a resounding 65 percent of the vote.
In his victory speech, Majumdar declared, “We sent Justin Trudeau a message tonight, didn’t we?” His statement was met with enthusiastic cheers from the supporters.
In a lighthearted remark, he jokingly said, “I wanted to go over to Liberal headquarters to invite them to participate in our celebration here tonight. The only problem was there were no direct flights from Calgary to Beijing.”
The race for second and third place was closely contested, with Liberal candidate Elliot Weinstein and Gurmit Bhachu of the NDP in a virtual tie in the final polls.
Voter turnout was relatively low, with just over 28 percent of eligible voters casting their ballots.
Lori Williams, a political science professor at Calgary’s Mount Royal University, explained, “This is seen as a safe Conservative seat. There hasn’t been a whole lot going on. It’s pretty sleepy.”
During the campaign, Majumdar engaged in thousands of conversations with voters across the riding and emphasized the challenges faced by Canadians.
“I’ve seen the hurt. I’ve seen the pain. I have seen the tears well up in the eyes of our neighbors. I’ve seen their throats choke with the pressure of their day-to-day lives. I see you. You are heard, and thank you for your trust in me,” Majumdar expressed gratefully.
He also celebrated his heritage and the opportunities it provided, saying, “What an amazing thing it is that this kid born of Indian origin…could go on to serve in the highest offices of this land and now stands before you as the next Conservative member of Parliament for Calgary Heritage.”
The recent byelections on June 19 garnered significant attention, with the Liberals and Conservatives each securing two seats.
Williams remarked, “Every one of those had something interesting going on.”
In Manitoba, two high-profile politicians left vacancies, with the passing of Liberal cabinet minister Jim Carr and the resignation of former Conservative interim leader Candice Bergen.
The Liberal party’s Ben Carr, son of Jim Carr, claimed victory in the Winnipeg South Centre seat, while Conservative Branden Leslie emerged as the winner in Portage-Lisgar, a riding where People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier was also running.
However, for the Calgary Heritage byelection, the focus was on the Conservative win, which further solidified the party’s position in the region.