Tuesday, October 22 at 9:34 a.m.: This article has been updated to confirm that Joyce Murray has been re-elected as MP for Vancouver Quadra with 43.4 percent of the vote.
Monday, October 21 at 11:21 p.m.: This article has been updated to include comment from Joyce Murray.
Liberal incumbent Joyce Murray has been re-elected as MP for UBC’s riding of Vancouver Quadra.
Running as part of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party, the veteran MP has won her fourth consecutive election and will continue holding the seat she has held for 11 years.
“I feel very grateful to [my] incredible team I have and just how hard they worked,” said Murray. “[I’m] also very pleased at … the fact that we have a very solid government with a Liberal prime minister.”
She joins the 157 other MPs forming the Liberal minority government. The Liberals have the option of forming a coalition government with another party — the NDP has announced its willingness to support this move — to collectively hold a majority well over the 170 seat threshold needed in the House of Commons.
The Conservatives, the Liberals’ closest competitor, have won 121 seats and will become Canada’s Official Opposition.
Murray defeated Conservative Party candidate Kathleen Dixon, NDP candidate Leigh Kenny and Green Party candidate Geoff Wright. Dixon, her closest competitor, earned 28.0 per cent of the vote compared to Murray’s 43.4 per cent.
Murray has enjoyed significant popularity in her riding, consistently polling at around 45 per cent throughout her campaign.
She hopes to continue her work on the environment in Ottawa.
“I’m someone who thinks of cooperation and working together [as] not only beneficial, [but] it’s essential,” she said.
“We’ll be looking to essentially … govern for all Canadians. And we’ll work with the MPs [who] share our principles … and move forward on our platform on behalf of Canadians.”