Klapwyk concedes election to Conservative rival

NDP candidate Phil Klapwyk thought change was in the air by the support he received as he canvassed door-to-door in Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge.

Now, he said the country is in the same position it was before the election, with a minority Liberal government.

“Locally, I thought there was a lot more impetus to change than was shown in the local results,” said Klapwyk.

However this is the best showing for an NDP candidate in the riding since the 2011 federal election when the party received just shy of 35 per cent of the vote.

That support dropped to about 30 per cent in the 2015 federal election under candidate Bob D’Eith, current MLA for Maple Ridge-Mission, and again to 24 per cent in 2019 with NDP candidate John Mogk.

Klapwyk managed to get almost 32 per cent of the vote this time around.

“Nobody really wanted to have this election. I think people were possibly considering alternatives rather than supporting Justin Trudeau,” said

Klapwyk.

Klapwyk wanted to congratulate all the candidates that put their name forward this election, noting how hard a campaign can be.

“Just to physically do the work of campaigning is exhausting. But it’s so important to actually have these conversations to participate in a democracy,” he said, adding that his biggest take from his run for office is every candidate has the best intentions for the people of the riding and the people of Canada, but they just have different ideas on how to achieve those goals.

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Klapwyk has not made a decision yet if he will continue to represent the NDP in the next federal election.

“I’m not necessarily from a diverse background and we need to make room for more diverse voices to represent the people of Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge in Ottawa,” he noted.

“We haven’t made any decisions. I have to talk to my family first. To see what my wife says,” he joked.