Conservatives, Williamson win election

Election results in New Brunswick Southwest and throughout the province mirrored the national trend on May 2, as voters chose a majority of Conservative Party candidates, boosted the standing of the New Democratic Party and dropped the Liberals.
Locally, Conservative candidate John Williamson easily won the seat that has been held by MP Greg Thompson, receiving 56.5% of the votes. NDP candidate Andrew Graham followed with 23.3%, and Liberal candidate Kelly Wilson placed third with 13.6%. Trailing were Green Party candidate Janice Harvey with 5.2% and Christian Heritage Party of Canada candidate Jason Farris with 1.4%. Voter turnout in the riding was 64.8%, which was similar to the national turnout rate of 61.4%.
Nationally, Canada now has a right-wing Conservative Party majority and a left-wing official opposition. Prime Minister Stephen Harper will have his first majority government, with the Conservatives winning 167 seats, or 54.2% of the total number. They received 39.6% of the popular vote and gained 23 seats. The NDP nearly tripled their seat count, picking up a large number of seats in Quebec at the expense of the Bloc Quebecois, and they have become the official opposition under leader Jack Layton. They gained 67 seats and now have 102, receiving 30.6% of the popular vote. The Liberals suffered a 43-seat drop, holding onto only 34, with even Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff losing his seat. They received 18.9% of the popular vote. The Bloc Quebecois lost 45 seats and won only four.
In New Brunswick, the Conservatives picked up eight of the 10 seats, with the NDP and Liberals winning one each. Until this election, the Liberals had won the most seats in Atlantic Canada in every federal election since 1997.