NDP's Desjarlais holds lead over Conservative Diotte in narrow Edmonton-Griesbach battle
New Democrat candidate Blake Desjarlais holds a narrow lead over incumbent Kerry Diotte in Edmonton-Griesbach after the initial count Monday night, but the race remains too close to call according to CTV News projections.
With 231 out of 232 polls reporting early Tuesday morning, Desjarlais led by just over 1,000 votes.
The Canadian Press called the race for Desjarlais earlier Monday night.
Desjarlais declined to speak to media Tuesday morning but posted to Twitter later in the day thanking his campaign team and stating that he was "deeply honoured by the confidence that the voters of Edmonton Griesbach have shown in me."
Diotte declined comment to CTV News on Tuesday morning.
- Federal election 2021: Results for all 34 Alberta ridings, 2 races too close to call
- 3 Edmonton ridings to watch on election night
Liberal candidate Habiba Mohamud will finish third, followed by the People Party of Canada’s Thomas Matty.
The final vote tally will be determined later Tuesday or early Wednesday as Elections Canada counts 1,746 remaining mail-in ballots.
Diotte won the riding when it was first contested in 2015 and then again in 2019 when he received more than 51 per cent of the vote.
The former Edmonton city councillor and newspaper columnist had served as the Tories' deputy critic for national revenue and public procurement.
Desjarlais, 27, was seeking to reverse a trend that saw voting support for the NDP fall over the last two elections: from 34 per cent of votes in 2015, down to 25 per cent in 2019.
If elected he would become Alberta’s only Indigenous MP and is also believed to be Canada's first openly two-spirited MP .
A Desjarlais win would be the result of a focused effort from the party, says Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt.
"Greisbach has never been in play before," he said. " It was a combination of recruiting a star NDP candidate with the full cooperation of both the federal NDP and the provincial NDP and they don’t often get along."
Federal party leader Jagmeet Singh visited the riding twice during the campaign and a number of provincial NDP representatives, including Opposition leader and former premier Rachel Notely, campaigned there as well.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada Disability Benefit needs to be safeguarded from clawbacks, MPs unanimously agree
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
Testifying in hush money trial, adult film actor Stormy Daniels describes first meeting Trump
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential election 10 years later.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Turfing Poilievre from House a clear sign of desperation by Trudeau Liberals
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Apple unveils new iPad Pro with 'outrageously powerful' AI-powered chip
Apple is hoping its latest iPad lineup will breathe new life into its sluggish tablet market. In a pre-recorded live streamed event from its Cupertino, California headquarters, the company introduced the latest versions of its iPad Pro and iPad Air tablets, and an all-new Apple Pencil Pro.
Katy Perry's mom was fooled by AI images of the singer at the Met Gala
Katy Perry did not attend the Met Gala on Monday, but some of the singer’s fans – and even her mom – thought she did.
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.