Despite the Conservatives garnering the most votes in Saanich, the Tories wound up empty-handed on the South Island following last Monday's election.
According to poll-by-poll results from the federal election obtained by the News, more than 50,500 Saanich residents cast their vote in the three ridings that span the municipality. Of those votes, the Conservative Party earned just over 17,000 of them.
The Greens saw the second most support from Saanichites (15,123 votes), followed by the New Democrats (13,955) and Liberals (4,325).
The municipality of Saanich contains all three South Island ridings – Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, Saanich-Gulf Islands and Victoria.
Votes at Saanich polls mirrored closely the overall riding results, with Randall Garrison (NDP), Elizabeth May (Green) and Denise Savoie (NDP) all earning the most support in their respective ridings.
Green candidates Jared Giesbrecht and Shaunna Salsman likely benefited from party leader May campaigning nearby, as each earned more votes in Saanich than their respective riding's Liberal candidate.
Nationally, support for the Liberals waned, as the party lost 43 seats and more than seven per cent of the total vote. The Greens, too, saw a drop in support across Canada,, However, the three South Island ridings saw all three Green candidates make ground over 2008 election results, ultimately earning the party its first-ever seat in Ottawa.
Of the 64 Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca polls in Saanich, Garrison won 39 of them, while Conservative Troy De Souza won 25. In Saanich-Gulf Islands, May won 89 of 115 Saanich polls, while Gary Lunn (Conservative) won 24 and the pair tied on two. Savoie won 22 of 27 polls in Saanich, and Conservative Patrick Hunt won four.
kslavin@saanichnews.com