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Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River riding turns from blue to orange

Oct 20, 2015 | 1:07 AM

The Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River riding has a new MP.

NDP candidate Georgina Jolibois defeated incumbent Conservative MP Rob Clarke and Liberal candidate Lawrence Joseph in a close three-way race for the Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River riding.

Jolibois won with 10,300 votes but Joseph made it a tight race, bringing in 10,230 votes.

During the later stages of the vote counting, Jolibois and Joseph exchanged places several times.  At point they were separated by only 13 votes.

Clarke finished with 9,110 votes and Warren Koch of the Green Party brought in 552 votes.

This is Jolibois’ first run for MP but she has served four terms as the Mayor of La Loche.

Clarke had previously faced Joseph in 2011, defeating him by nearly 800 votes. Their positions were nearly reversed this election, with Joseph leading Clarke by 1,120 votes.

Joseph called this election a “real muddled up election,” citing the lack of ballots in Big River, Sandy Lake First Nation and Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation. “There was a great influx of First Nations voters and I think (Elections Canada) underestimated the turnout that would be there.”

He believes strong anti-Harper sentiment helped propel himself and Jolibois ahead of Clarke.

The Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River riding was redrawn in 2012, losing the towns of Smeaton, Choiceland and White Fox, which are now included in the Prince Albert riding.

Desenthe-Missinippi-Churchill River is the sole riding for the northern half of Saskatchewan.

panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow