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Conservatives can’t reclaim former stronghold of Delta

It was more disappointment for the Conservative machine in Monday’s federal election as it failed to reclaim the former stronghold of Delta.
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Tanya Corbet stands beside her husband Matt while giving a concession speech Oct. 21.

It was more disappointment for the Conservative machine in Monday’s federal election as it failed to reclaim the former stronghold of Delta.

Having the volunteers and resources, candidate Tanya Corbet and her team were hoping to regain the riding the Conservatives lost by a wide margin four years earlier, but it ended up being more of the same.

After Monday’s results were official, a clearly disappointed but smiling Corbet arrived with her husband Matt at her election night party at Gracie’s Next Door eatery in Tsawwassen to thank her volunteers for all their hard work. 

“Words can’t express how incredible people are and how we’ve come together and worked so many hours. Our team has knocked on over 25,000 doors all across Delta. We’ve been through it all. We’ve been through hot days. We’ve been through rainy days. But it didn’t stop any of us. We kept on persevering and we kept on talking to everyone in Ladner, Tsawwassen and North Delta. We had a lot of great support and heard a lot of great feedback from people around the community,” she said.

Corbet quipped her husband and kids would be able to see more of her now after what was a very busy last few weeks.

“I hope you had fun along the way because I know we had a ton of fun. We’ve had a lot of laughs and a lot of jokes and there are a lot of memories in the bank… we had a great time. I just want to thank my campaign team. I could not have done it without your guys’ support,” she added.

A campaign handler the following day told the Optimist Corbet declined an interview request.

In the 2015 election, Liberal newcomer Carla Qualtrough received 49.1 per cent of the vote in the newly reconfigured Delta riding to defeat Conservative incumbent Kerry-Lynne Findlay, who got 32.8 per cent. Corbet received 33.1 per cent.

Qualtrough’s share of the vote in this election actually slipped by about eight per cent but instead of going to the Conservatives, who even had party leader Andrew Scheer in Tsawwassen in the late stages of the campaign, those votes went elsewhere.

It’s a far cry from the days when Conservative MP John Cummins easily dominated the polls, or even when Findlay, who in this election made a political comeback in South Surrey-White Rock, won the former stronghold in 2011 with 54.2 per cent per cent of the vote.

Corbet was acclaimed as the Conservative candidate in May, saying she felt it was time to take her experience to the national level.

During the campaign she said, “I am committed to providing strong, local representation in Ottawa that will put the needs of Delta first.”

The late campaign even saw a mass endorsement flyer in mailboxes from longtime Delta city politician Lois Jackson.

Most of the other Delta candidates, especially Qualtrough, made sure to point out Corbet skipped a pair of all-candidates forums, including one on environmental issues at KinVillage in Tsawwassen.

Corbet is a former council member of the Tsawwassen First Nation and was one of five Indigenous candidates for the Conservatives.

Ten Indigenous candidates were elected Monday, the majority being Liberal incumbents, one fewer than in 2015.