VANCOUVER – Liberal incumbent Terry Beech has won re-election in Burnaby North-Seymour, according to the CTV News Decision Desk.
Beech was in a tough race against high-profile NDP candidate Svend Robinson, who represented Burnaby for 25 years before a scandal pushed him away from politics in 2004.
About three hours after the polls closed in B.C., Beech was leading Robinson with 14,224 votes to Robinson's 12,765. CTV's results team declared his win with 155 of 190 polls reporting.
The riding is home to the terminus station of the Trans Mountain pipeline, and the Liberal government's controversial decision to purchase the expansion project was among the top issues of the campaign.
But speaking to CTV News last week, Beech noted his decision to buck his own party and vote against the pipeline. He was one of only two Liberals to do so.
"I promised that I would represent my constituents, and on balance the majority of my constituents are opposed to (the pipeline)," he said. "I'm there to fight for the community."
Robinson was a vocal opponent of the pipeline project as well, and notably defied his own party leader, Jagmeet Singh, by speaking out against the B.C. LNG project too. "No new oil and gas" was a key message of his campaign.
Monday's results represent his second failed attempt at a political comeback since he was caught stealing a diamond ring – an incident he described on the campaign trail as a "serious" but "stupid" mistake.
Analysts at 338 Canada put the two candidates neck-and-neck heading into election day, but Beech was apparently able to mobilize more voters to the polls.
Coming in a distant third was Independent Heather Leung, who entered the campaign as a Conservative before being kicked out of the party over homophobic remarks.
Leung was still listed as a Conservative on the ballots because it was too late to reprint them by the time of her ouster.
