By time the polls in B.C. officially closed in B.C. at 7 p.m. Monday night and the platters of fruit and sandwiches were laid out on a table, the mood at the NDP's election night HQ across from Richmond City Hall turned from sombre to more of a wake.
Candidates in both ridings — Jack Trovato in Richmond Centre and Scott Stewart in the newly created riding of Steveston-Richmond East — were contemplative as they witnessed a "red wave" of Liberal support wash over most of the country and Richmond, relegating the NDP to also-ran status.
"We're very clearly seeing that Canadians are voting for change," said Trovato, a teacher who also ran, unsuccessfully, in last November's election for school trustee. "We were hoping that it would be the NDP leading that change with Tom Mulcair and an NDP government in Ottawa, but Canadians have casted their ballots."
Watching the early results Trovato said he still held out hope that, "B.C. might be the watershed province where an orange wave comes from the west."
But as it became clearer the NDP would be relegated to third party status after achieving the level of official opposition in the last federal election, Trovato said there is bound to be much analysis of where things went wrong and what worked.
"We fought a very good campaign here in Richmond and we engaged the voters and talked about issues affecting people here in Richmond — childcare, healthcare, better pensions for seniors, and climate change," he said. "And if at the very least we brought more awareness out. And perhaps with that we can hold the next government accountable to that."
For his part, Stewart, a retired RCMP member, said,
"It's always a victory when voters go out and make their choice. And it's been a good election. We campaigned well. We saw some good platforms and policy. And the voters have made their choice."
Stewart added he was understandably disappointed at the showing of the NDP nationally, and in Steveston-Richmond East. "Politics is fickle," he said. "We'll be back. We're not done yet."
Asked what the party has learned from the results, and what it could have done better, Stewart said the NDP will return with a well considered platform with energetic candidates, but thought this time around the pent up desire for change on the national political stage is what undid the NDP's fortunes.
"We can armchair quarterback and speculate all night long," he said. "The voters have examined the parties, their platforms and their candidates and decided on what meets their needs."
Stewart added that when the NDP sets its platform it does so on principles, not in a "vote-seeking manner."
"We came up with a platform that we felt was best for Canada, put it forward, and I was proud of it," he said. "And it represented the finest ideals in Canadian politics."
At the end of Monday night Trovato finished with 4,613 votes, or 11.1 per cent of the popular vote as Conservative incumbent Alice Wong and Liberal challenger Lawrence Woo battled it out with a mere 363 votes separating them.
Stewart was also in third place in his riding with 5,248 votes, or 12.1 per cent of the votes. Liberal Joe Peschisolido enjoyed a healthy lead with 45 per cent of the votes compared to Tory candidate Kenny Chiu's 39 per cent.
