The preliminary results for the Richmond Centre-Marpole riding are in, with the Conservative candidate appearing to have secured victory, unseating the Liberal incumbent.
Conservative candidate Chak Au, currently a Richmond city councillor, received 23,224 (49.9 per cent) votes, followed by Liberal incumbent Wilson Miao at 20,632 (44.4 per cent) votes.
Richmond Centre-Marpole candidates Martin Li with the NDP has 2,059 votes, Green Party's Michael Sisler with 406, followed by People's Party of Canada candidate David Wang with 191.
A party must hold at least 172 of the 343 seats across Canada to have a majority government. The Liberals appear to have won 168 seats.
Au told the Richmond News he was feeling “unsettled” early in the evening, even before polls closed, as he was predicted to be “behind by one to two per cent” in the election.
“It’s been a tough race, we’re so close,” he said.
However, he thanked his constituents and supporters for believing in him and what he does for the community.
“Thank you. A big thank you. This has been a very humbling experience for me. Even though I have served the (Richmond) community for 26 years, I cannot take anything for granted,” said Au.
Whether he plans to continue his work as a Richmond city councillor is still up in the air.
“I haven't given much thought about it yet. Of course, I have to consult with the mayor, the voters and constituents, but there will definitely be some changes or adjustments."
Public safety is Au’s main priority for the Richmond community, as well as potential plans to “see Richmond as an important international trade hub for Canada” in the future.
“I will do my best, whether I’m in government or in opposition, to make sure that we will have a safe setting for the people so that they don’t have to be afraid of going out at night or afraid of being attacked.”
Meanwhile, Liberal Wilson Miao, who was seeking re-election, has lost his seat, but said the election this time was not about winning or losing.
“Before I came into this, I wasn’t expecting to win,” said Miao, adding that while it was a tight race, the most important thing was seeing voters of all ages coming out to vote.
“Even though some might agree or disagree with what the Liberal government is trying to do, but the most important piece is getting Canadians’ voice out there by them casting that ballot and understanding what democracy is about."
This was shown by the record-breaking number of 7.3 million voters during advance voting this year, which was reported by Elections Canada as a 25-per-cent increase from the 2021 federal election.
As of April 24, a preliminary count of 19,697 electors voted in the Richmond Centre-Marpole riding at advance polls, according to Election Canada's website.
During his four-year term, Miao said he learned to understand “where the issues were” and “how we can better improve them,” but these are problems that need to be tackled with the help of all levels of government.
“If my time is up, maybe I can continue to serve the community in a different way, and hopefully, during the next opportunity, I can put my name forward again.”
As of Monday night, 201 of 202 polls for Richmond Centre-Marpole had been reported by Elections Canada.
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