Liberal Stephen Fuhr wins Kelowna, at least for now

It’s down to the wire in the new Kelowna riding but it appears Liberal Stephen Fuhr is the next Member of Parliament, unseating incumbent Conservative Tracy Gray.

This morning, Fuhr is ahead by just 170 votes with one poll remaining to be counted. Elections Canada says 99.51% of votes have been counted. It’s unclear why the final polling station hasn’t been counted. It’s suspected to be advance polls, but we are seeking clarification today.  

If it holds, it will paint one auspicious red spot among a sea of blue in the BC Interior.

In 2015, Fuhr made history as one of the few Liberal MPs to represent Kelowna until he was defeated by Gray in 2019. This time around Fuhr appears to have came out on top.

Pollster 338 Canada had Kelowna down as a toss up between Liberals and Conservatives ahead of election day. 

Fuhr was a pilot in the Royal Canadian Armed Forces until 2009 and currently works in aviation as a Transport Canada pilot examiner and aviation consultant.

NDP candidate Trevor McAleese and Green candidate Catriona Wright were on the ballot were both defeated.