The big orange NDP wave failed to make a dent in Gerry Ritz's hold on the blue fortress of Battlefords-Lloydminster Monday.
Ritz racked up 67 per cent of the vote for an easy victory in his contest against the NDP's Glenn Tait, With 172 of 173 polls reporting Ritz had 19,055 compared to 7,652 for Tait, 944 for Liberal Jordan LaPlante and 780 for Green Party candidate Norbert Kratchmer. Voter turnout in the riding was 57.4 per cent.
Once the results were known, Tait went over to the Ritz campaign office in North Battleford to personally congratulate him on his victory.
In speaking to the News-Optimist, Ritz thanked the voters for "see(ing) fit to send me to the 'zoo' in Ottawa once again. I'm absolutely pleased to do that. Certainly there's a lot of unfinished business and with a Conservative majority government now we can really get our nose to the grindstone and get it done."
Ritz said he was not surprised by the results, as voters he talked to made clear the economy was the number one issue.
"It's all about the economy. We were the only party talking about the economy," said Ritz.
Ritz expects the government to get right back to work with an early spring session, and expects the budget finance minister Jim Flaherty presented in the House to come back in June. The government will also be facing an altered dynamic as the New Democrats take over as the official opposition, winning 102 seats compared to 167 for the Conservatives.
The election saw drastically-reduced Liberal and Bloc numbers. The Liberals came in with 34 seats to the Bloc's four. As well, Green Party leader Elizabeth May won her seat in Parliament.
Both Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe were among those who lost their seats on election night. Both resigned as leaders of their parties within hours.
"It is a new day," Ritz said of the results.
Across Saskatchewan, Conservatives ended up sweeping 13 of 14 seats once again, with only Liberal Ralph Goodale able to hold off the Tory tide.
For Ritz, federal minister of Agriculture and Agri-Foods in the Stephen Harper government, it is his sixth straight election victory since 1997, when he ran and won election under the Reform banner. That 1997 victory over then-MP Len Taylor of the NDP proved to be his closest race, as Ritz has not been seriously challenged through the last five elections.
His 2011 showing was in fact a seven-percentage-point improvement over 2008, when he cruised to victory with 60 per cent of the vote.
He gave credit to his campaign team, led by his wife Judy who again served as campaign manager, and to all the volunteers.
Ritz celebrated his victory Monday night along with his volunteers at his election headquarters in North Battleford. There, campaign workers watched the results come in from across Canada on television.
The mood was buoyant, as supporters watched the Conservatives rack up a big lead in the rest of the country on their way to a majority government. There were cheers when news flashed on the screen about big Liberal names losing their seats. Supporters were particularly delighted to see the Bloc Quebecois reduced to rubble.
Several Conservative volunteers called the majority results "great for Canada."
"We've been waiting for this for a long time," said John Fisher, a long-time Conservative supporter who was at Ritz's campaign office on election night. "Now we have a majority in the House. Stephen Harper can follow his program and do the right thing for Canada."
Another Conservative supporter, Orville Bilous, was also jubilant.
"It's a great day for Canada. Stephen Harper's leadership is recognized, and Canada as a country itself will be able to move forward with modern policies for all the people of Canada."
Bilous also looked forward to seeing Parliament work in a "faster, more efficient" manner with a majority in place.
