Liberal candidate Lucia Stachurski didn't expect to win, but as votes came in on election night, she said she was proud of the work her team had put into their campaign.
"We set out. We didn't know, I didn't know what I was getting [into]," said Stachurski at her election watch party yesterday night. "But I really wanted to let people know that there are liberals in this riding."
Stachurski placed second in the St. Albert—Sturgeon River riding with approximately 30 per cent of the vote.
"There were a lot of undecideds at the door. So I found that as a good sign that it wasn't totally blue or red, like it was a lot of people really giving a lot of thought to who they were going to vote for, said Stachurski. "So I was really happy about that."
Stachurski's family, friends, campaign team, and volunteers gathered at Capital Pizza and Steak House to join her. As other liberal candidates across the country won their ridings, cheers erupted in the room. Despite the loss, the room stayed upbeat throughout the night.
"All my volunteers too, like the time and the effort they put in, I know they're proud to have been part of the campaign, and I'm very proud of them," said Stachurski. "They did so much, they worked so hard."
Stachurski entered the race before Donald Trump was elected president of the U.S., and tariffs were an issue. She said she wanted to run because she believes the government can run well while being compassionate.
"I don't believe in cutting all the social programs and things like that," she said. "We have to take care of people, and I think that's one of the things that makes Canada great."
Co-campaign manager Christine Brown said the dedication from the team was inspiring from the start till the end of the campaign.
"I knew that our chances of winning were not terribly high, but you never know," said Brown. "But it didn't matter, everybody here put their all in, they were incredible."
Jason Schwenneker, the other co-campaign manager, says it was great to see positive energy around the liberal movement in the riding.
"I've worked with Lucia for the past three years," he said. "We've been on the electoral district Association board for about three years, and when she said she was planning on running, I was very excited."
Stachurski also praised the other candidates for running.
"I think everybody put their name forward, you know, knowing pretty much the way it was going to end up and I got to give them all credit," she said. "I mean, they put their name in knowing that they may not have a chance at all, but they still do it. They live their values and their convictions, so you got to respect them for that.
While she did not win this election, Stachurski said she isn't against running again in the future.
"I would like to if I'm healthy and I stay healthy," she said. "I would consider running again."
The St. Albert Gazette reached out to Dot Anderson, the New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate, but did not receive a response by press time.
