Votes have been cast, and the results are in.
Manitoba has voted in an NDP majority government, making Wab Kinew Manitoba’s first-ever First Nations Premier.
In the Dauphin riding, it was a neck-and-neck race that ran quite late, but it also ended with an NDP victory.
MLA-elect Ron Kostyshyn notes that the win was not without a great deal of effort.
"I did my best and I put in a 120 per cent effort into the constituency to try and have people support me. And I guess at the end of the day it is their judgment."
The night went much later than either party expected, as the tabulation of votes did not finish until well after midnight.
NDP Campaign Manager David Howe was a little caught off guard by just how late the Dauphin riding tabulation took.
"I think the election was run reasonably well, but I am a little disappointed with the tabulating machines. I have seen it done in Ontario where it takes minutes to report and you have a government declared 20 minutes into the night amd most seats are declared within half an hour. I am totally shocked that this process was slower than counting by hand ."
The race was rather long in the riding, and while the PC party didn't win, local Campaign Manager Miles Meyer said their efforts certainly made it exciting.
"I knew it was going to be a tight race. I think that the polls said the NDP would win (Dauphin) in a landslide but I think we put the work in to at the very minimum make this very close. And I think it is a matter of who came out to vote."
Local PC candidate Gord Wood says his campaign efforts gained a lot of support.
"I have to say thank you to the constituents of Dauphin and the area. I appreciate the support they gave us, the kind words, and the excitement that people got behind us. So we will take that as small victories and we will move on."
With all 46 polls reporting, Kostyshyn had 4,810 votes, compared to 4,467 for Wood.
