Wildrose take Calgary-Foothills byelection over NDP in tight race

The WildroseParty has defeated the governing NDP's candidate in a close race in the Calgary-Foothills byelection.

"I'm so happy that the voters of Calgary-Foothills put their faith in me and the Wildrose," said Prasad Panda in his victory speech.

"People are really worried about jobs and the economy. Both the opposition and the governmentshould be paying attention to that and bring back the economy on track. That is what we should be doing."

It's the third time he has run under the Wildrose banner in the city, being defeated twice in the riding ofCalgary-Northern Hills.

"It's a sweet victory," said Panda.

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'At least we were contenders'

Unofficial results have Panda leading with roughly 38 per cent of the vote, ahead of NDP candidate Bob Hawkesworth with about 26 per cent. PC candidate Blair Houston trails in third with 22 per cent.

Voter turnout was roughly 39 per cent.

"Let's put everything in perspective," saidHawkesworth. "At least we were contenders."

He says the party will have to work harder to achieve their goals.

Finance Minister JoeCeci saidin a statementthe party knew it would be an uphill battle "given thehistory of the riding and the economic challenges we face because of the collapse in oil prices."

The riding has belonged to the PC party since 1971.

5 parties in Calgary

TheWildrosehas only been elected in Calgary threetimes before in the party's history: in a2009byelectionand two seats in the2012 vote.

There are now five parties holdingCalgary's 25 seats:

• NDP:14 seats.
• PC: seven seats.
• Alberta Party: one seat belonging to leader Greg Clark.
• Liberal: one seat belonging to leader David Swann.
• WRP: one seat now belonging to Prasad Panda.
• Independent: one seat belonging to Deborah Drever, who was kicked out of the NDP caucus after the election.

Until their big win in May, the NDP had not won a seat in Calgary since 1989.With less than22per centof tonight's vote,the PCs have muchto consider for future races.

The real question now is whether there will be more calls for parties to unite. Former high-profile members of both the PCs and Wildrosehas suggested in the past the two parties should consider it.

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Vote held to replace Prentice

The provincial votewas called after former premier Jim Prenticeresigned shortly after his party lost the spring election.

It was the third time residents in the riding had to casta ballot in the last year.

Votershad picked Prentice to be their MLAin abyelection in October 2014.

They went back to the polls on May 5 for the provincial election, and Thursdaythey wereasked to vote again.

See a recap of the night's event as tweeted by CBC reporters here.