Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan concedes defeat in her Edmonton riding Monday night. (Jason Scott/CP)
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The Conservatives swept through the Prairies, winning 48 of the regions' 56 ridings, and claiming every Alberta seat.
In 2004, the Tories won every seat in Alberta, with the exception of Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan's Edmonton Centre riding and that of David Kilgour. Those seats are now in the hands of the Tories.
Ms. McLellan faced a tough fight in each of her federal campaigns since being elected in 1993, earning the nickname "Landslide Annie." But Ms. McLellan finally skidded out in her fight against Conservative candidate Laurie Hawn, a former fighter pilot, whom she beat by only 721 votes in 2004. Mr. Hawn was called the winner in Edmonton Centre at 11:09 p.m., local time, with a more than 3,700 vote lead.
Popular support for the Tories has jumped slightly to nearly 57 per cent up, three percentage points from 2004 across the Prairies, according to the polls. The Tories are leading or elected in 48 ridings, the Liberals are losing one seat, but are holding five others. The NDP is at three seats, one less than it took in 2004.
Prominent Tories Stephen Harper, Monty Solberg, Stockwell Day, Rona Ambrose, and Jason Kenney have all claimed their seats in Alberta and would likely form the core of the Conservative Cabinet.
Elsewhere, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale reclaimed his seat in the Saskatchewan riding of Wascana. However, President of the Treasury Board Reg Alcock lost a nail-biter to Conservative Rod Bruinooge in Winnipeg South, by 110 votes, or 0.3 per cent of the vote.
Former Governor-General Ed Schreyer also lost his bid for the Manitoba riding of Selkirk-Interlake for the NDP, to the Conservative incumbent James Bezan.
Likewise, NDP veteran Lorne Nystrom is trailing in his bid to reclaim the Regina-Qu'Appelle riding to Andrew Scheer, who he lost his seat to in 2004.
Actress and Liberal candidate Tina Keeper in the Manitoba riding of Churchill defeated Bev Desjarlais, the three-term incumbent who was ousted from the party by the NDP leadership after refusing to support national party policy on same-sex marriage.
The Green Party pulled in 5.3 per cent of the popular vote across the Prairies.
