Voter turnout hits surprising low in Nov. 17 byelection
Conservative candidate Jim Eglinski was elected MP of the Yellowhead riding Nov. 17, in a federal byelection to replace recently departed MP Rob Merrifield.
After all 284 polls were counted, Eglinski held 62.6 per cent of the votes. Liberal candidate Ryan Maguhn held 20 per cent, while the NDP’s Eric Rosendahl nabbed 9.5 per cent. Independent candidate Dean Williams collected 4.9 per cent of the vote, and Libertarian candidate Cory Lystang sat at three per cent.
On Nov. 19 Elections Canada was still in the process of validating its results, so it was unable to release specific data on how Jasperites voted.
On Monday night, from the moment the first results came in, shortly after polls closed at 7:30 p.m., Eglinski held a comfortable lead. By 8 p.m. his eventual victory became obvious.
“I’m quite happy,” Eglinski told the Fitzhugh Monday evening, after his win was essentially secured.
The retired RCMP officer and former mayor of Fort St. John said he plans to work hard to prove himself in the year leading up to the next federal election.
“I made a commitment that I was going to work for this riding and I was going to be here for them. Their time is my time … and I’m going to work hard for them.
“I'd like to thank all the constituents in the riding for coming out and voting, and especially those who voted for me.”
Riding-wide turnout for the byelection was remarkably low, with tentative data from Elections Canada indicating only 16.6 per cent of registered voters showed up to the polls.
According to Diane Benson of Elections Canada, byelection turnouts are almost always lower than general elections, but considering 55.1 per cent of voters in the Yellowhead riding showed up for the last general election, the decrease in the Nov. 17 participation rate is significant.
On Nov. 18, Maguhn said he was disappointed with the turnout, noting that the low numbers don't speak well of voter engagement, and indicate that “we have a lot of people who are disconnected.”
The Liberal candidate suggested that the absence of a public forum ahead of the election was a contributing factor to the abysmal participation this time around.
He said that throughout the campaign he was committed to participating in a public dialogue, but that “some candidates didn't hold that in very high esteem.
“Really I think that's a fundamental failure in the way they go about persuing democracy,” he said.
Despite the low turnout, those who voted showed a significant level of support for Eglinski.
“Yes the support is for me, but it’s also very much for the Conservative party, and Prime Minister Harper,” Eglinski said. “I think the people here are showing that they are happy with what he’s doing, and it's a vote for the Conservative party.”
He said that he hoped to nab voter support in the mid 60 per cent range. He accomplished that, but his support was significantly lower than the 77.03 per cent Merrifield netted in the 2011 federal election.
Maguhn was a factor in that drop, securing the most support for a federal Liberal candidate in the Yellowhead riding since John Higgerty earned 21.6 per cent of the vote in 1993.
The Liberal candidate said the results indicate a “dramatic increase” in support for the Liberal party in the riding.
“There's still a lot of people in the riding who have unknowns about the Liberal party, and so our goal is to get out and let them know [about us].”
Independent candidate Dean Williams also had a good showing by Yellowhead standards, earning the highest vote count ever by an independent candidate in the riding. In 1979, Lex Miller earned 3.7 per cent, which until Nov. 17 was the previous high for an independent candidate.
Eglinski said he is excited to get to work as the new Yellowhead MP, and said he hopes to “get some House of Commons time before Christmas.”
He thanked everyone who came out to vote, and promised that constituents will see a lot of him around the riding. Even though he's looking for temporary accommodation in the nation's capital, he said he will continue to live primarily in the Yellowhead.
“It’s been a great race. It’s been eight weeks of hard work here, and now it’s time to go to Ottawa and work hard there.”
The Nov. 17 byelection was held to replace Merrifield, after Premier Jim Prentice appointed him Alberta’s senior trade representative in the United States, Sept. 17.
Elections Canada Results: Nov. 17 byelection in the Yellowhead
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percent |
| Conservative | Jim Eglinski | 7,884 | 62.6 |
| Liberal | Ryan Maguhn | 2,518 | 20.0 |
| NDP | Eric Rosendahl | 1,203 | 9.5 |
| Independent | Dean Williams | 622 | 4.9 |
| Libertarian | Cory Lystang | 374 | 3.0 |
Polls Reporting: 284 of 284 (100 %)
Voter Turnout: 12,601 of 78,481 registered electors (16.06 %) *does not include electors who registered on election day.
Population: 105,526
Trevor Nichols
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