Conservative double dip the newly-split Kamloops ridings

KAMLOOPS — It was a clean sweep of the two Kamloops ridings for the Conservative Party of Canada Monday (April 28), with incumbents Mel Arnold in Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies and Frank Caputo in Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola elected back to Ottawa, both receiving more than 50 per cent of the vote.

The Conservative wins, however, were overshadowed by a Liberal win across the country, with Mark Carney re-elected as Canada’s prime minister. Canadians are still awaiting word on whether the Grits will reach the majority threshold of 172 seats.

A rookie MP no more, Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola has sent Frank Caputo back to Ottawa to again sit in the opposition benches of parliament. While he had over 50 per cent of the vote, he stated that leaves work to earn the trust opposition voters.

“I want to hear those ideas. It’s more impactful if somebody comes to me directly than trying to think what motivated somebody else. That is why, as a member of parliament, I need to be open and available for people to bring their ideas,” said Caputo.

Mel Arnold secured a fourth term in Ottawa, a feat he never truly saw coming when he entered the political realm a decade ago.

“I guess one thing I’ve learned in politics is never expect what you might expect. It’s always changing and this election was another one of those. It really changed quickly from where we were six months ago,” said Arnold.

The votes are still being counted — it truly is early days — and for the MPs-elect, too soon to speculate on next steps for their party with leader Pierre Poilievre without a seat in the house.

“We are only 12 hours, barely, from the results coming in. There will be a lot of discussion on that. Anything there would be speculation at this point,” said Arnold.

“We will have to see how that goes. Right now, it’s a lot to take in in under 24 hours, so I just kind of want to soak it all in, if you will, because there are a lot of considerations here. [Poilievre] was voted in with 70 per cent of the vote from Conservative members, and that is something, in my view, that shouldn’t be easily displaced,” said Caputo.

The minority government will be a third consecutive term in Canada without a party achieving majority status.

“I think it’s an indication of what we’ve seen happen over the past nine-and-a-half years. We have become a divisive, polarized country. I don’t like to see that American-style politics coming into Canada. I think we are better off as a country with a multi-party system,” said Arnold.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Liberals and NDP were in line to have enough seats to form a coalition without needing the help of the Bloc Quebecois.