BY-ELECTIONS Yellowhead went as predicted. But Whitby-Oshawa has some very interesting things going on... The Conservatives held on to the seat... BUT it was CPC 49.2%(down from 58.42% in 2011) to LPC 40.7% (up from 14.11% in 2011). The NDP wound up with 8.1% (down from 22.27% in 2011) In the 2011 general election, Jim Flaherty picked up 37,525 votes (in a 63.4% turnout poll). In tonights by election, Conservative candidate Pat Perkins (two-time Mayor in the riding) scored 17,033 votes (in a 31.76% turnout poll). That means 20,492 people who cast a vote for Flaherty could not be bothered to case one tonight for Perkins (thats a drop of 54.6%) In the 2011 general election, Trish McAuliffe the NDP candidate who finished 2nd picked up 14,305 votes. Tonight it was 2,800 votes for the same candidate. Thats a whopping 11,235 votes less in 2014 than in 2011 for McAuliffe (a drop of 80%!!!) In 2011, the Liberal candidate got 9,066 votes. This time around, Celia Caesar-Chavannes (a fresh candidate) scored 14,082 votes. Thats 5,016 MORE votes cast for the Liberals during a by-election than in the general election (an INCREASE of 55.3%)! Thats unheard of!! Is this a sign that rank & file Conservatives agreed with Jim Flaherty with regard to income splitting? Is the PM REALLY bleeding that badly with his base? If so, the PM and his party are in big trouble come next election. One thing is for sure, Tom Mulcair and the NDP are in even worse shape! But for those who are sad that Perkins won... Take heart. These numbers show that two parties are slowing down and one party clearly has the momentum and motivation when it comes to the base. But also, the media appears to have been tipped off to some alleged irregularities with former Mayor Perkins expenses (in particular foreign travel). If the scandal explodes before the next federal election, the blowback on the PM for having found yet another corrupt politician to run for his party will likely be politically fatal. enr.elections.ca/ElectoralDistricts.aspx?ed=1438&lang=e
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 08:25:04 +0000