Mihychuk wins Kildonan-St. Paul for Liberals

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This article was published 20/10/2015 (3945 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For the first time in its existence, the Kildonan-St. Paul electoral district is not held by the Conservatives.

According to unofficial results, Liberal candidate MaryAnn Mihychuk garnered 18,698 votes, or 42.6 per cent, edging out Conservative candidate Jim Bell, who picked up 17,478 votes, or 39.9 per cent.

The riding — created in 2003 prior to the 2004 federal election — had previously been held by Joy Smith, who had served as MP for Kildonan-St. Paul since 2004. Smith announced earlier this year that she would not seek re-election.

Mihychuk campaign volunteers Don Paulus and Gary Enns said Mihychuk worked hard right down to the wire.

“She’s a tireless worker. She worked for 14 hours today. What a worker,” Paulus said.
“That’s an example of how she’ll work for us,” Enns added. “She has a big heart and a hell of a determination.”

Gillian Hanson, 25, Mihychuk’s campaign manager, said she had worked on political campaigns before, but never in a leadership role.

Like Enns and Paulus, Hanson said she was drawn in by Mihychuk’s work ethic, as well as her experience. Mihychuk was an NDP cabinet minister in the provincial government from 1999 to 2004.

“I think she is a very dedicated person, very hard-working and I think she has the experience this area really needs. I think she’s just a great leader and mentor for a lot of people in the party,” Hanson said.

In addition to her personal support for Mihychuk, Hanson believes the Liberals have the best plan for Canada.

“It (the Liberal platform) speaks to a lot of different people. It’s not just wedge issues and it’s not boutique tax cuts that apply to just a small part of the population. They really have a broader vision of Canada,” Hanson said.

Tom Thomas, head of fundraising for Bell, said this was his first time working on a political campaign. A financial planner and investment advisor for RBC, Thomas said the experience had been very rewarding.

“Talking to everyday people, business leaders that could contribute to Jim’s campaign was fun. I’ve met a lot of great people over the last two months that I wouldn’t have otherwise,” Thomas said.  

The other candidates in Kildonan-St. Paul were Suzanne Hrynyk (NDP), Steve Stairs (Green), David Reimer (Christian Heritage) and Eduard Walter Hiebert (Independent).

Elsewhere in northwest Winnipeg, incumbent Winnipeg North MP Kevin Lamoureux (Liberal) retained his seat with 23,407 votes, defeating Conservative candidate Harpreet Turka (5,193), NDP candidate Levy Abad (4,543), and Green candidate John Redekopp (825).