Pierre Poilievre takes early lead in Battle River-Crowfoot byelection in Alberta
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Battle River—Crowfoot was left vacant when Conservative Damien Kurek stepped down shortly after the spring election to make way for Poilievre to run for the seat. Poilievre lost after being elected in the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton seven straight times.
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The byelection is in one of the safest Conservative seats in the country, and many expect the Tory leader to win by a large margin. Poilievre had an early lead as of 9 p.m. MT, with 85 per cent of the vote with just 12 of the 286 polls reporting.
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Stacey Martin, who lives in Camrose, Alta., lined up to cast her ballot in the final hours of voting. She said she voted for Poilievre because he's 'the best one to represent us.
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'I think it's going to come out Pierre, because I think that's what everybody wanted to start with,' Martin said.
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She added Western Canada has 'no say' and the area needs someone to represent their beliefs and values in Ottawa.
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Martin said she and others in the riding were proud of Kurek when he gave up his seat.
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'For me, it didn't make a difference if it was Damien or Pierre, I would have been just happy to have Damien in there.'
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Martin also said she's 'disgusted' with the longest ballot protest.
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A record 214 names are on the ballot, most of whom are part of a protest movement called the Longest Ballot Committee, which is pushing for electoral reform to replace the first-past-the-post system.
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As a result of the number of people running, Elections Canada said voters must write the name of their preferred candidate on a modified blank ballot.
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Poilievre is up against a few vocal challengers, including Independent candidate Bonnie Critchley. The military veteran has described Poilievre as a parachute candidate who only wants to represent the riding for his political career.
Poilievre was born and raised in Calgary but has lived in Ottawa for the last two decades.
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Delphine Doerksen said she voted for Critchley because she's an 'awesome' candidate who lives in the area.
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'I don't think Poilievre is going to represent this riding. He is just here to get a seat in Parliament, basically. And I don't think we'll see him again,' she said.
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Doerksen, who said she typically votes Liberal federally, said she thinks Critchley has the best chance of defeating Poilievre and 'should put a significant dent in his numbers.'
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Other candidates include Darcy Spady, from the energy sector, for the Liberals and Katherine Swampy, a former band councillor for Samson Cree Nation, who is running for the NDP.
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Polls were open from 8:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. MT. Elections Canada said it expects the vote count will take longer than usual, given the unique blank ballot.
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More than 14,000 people cast votes in advance polls. There are more than 86,000 eligible voters in the riding.
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