OTTAWA — Winnipeg voters can expect a fierce battle in the city’s Elmwood—Transcona riding as voters head to the polls today in a federal byelection.
The NDP expects to hold the seat that has been orange for most of the last 30 years despite a fierce challenge from a Conservative party that has been intent on growing its appeal to working Canadians.
Philippe Fournier of 338Canada.com, which publishes electoral projections, told the National Post that the federal New Democrats should hold the seat but the margin of victory will send an important signal about the health of the party.
Monday’s byelection will also be the first time in nearly a decade that the Blaikie name, a family whose roots run deep in the community, will not appear on the ballot. The contest was triggered after former MP Daniel Blaikie announced he was resigning. His father, the late Bill Blaikie, had represented the area for two decades starting in 1988 under a different riding name.
Polls close tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET.
National Post
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