The federal Conservative party has a new leader and the Central Okanagan鈥檚 local MPs think he will be a 鈥渦nifier鈥� for conservatives across the country.
Erin O鈥橳oole was declared the winner of the leadership race early Monday morning after technical problems delayed the vote results by hours, as thousands of ballots had to be replicated by hand after the counting machine shredded their envelopes.
After three rounds of counting, O鈥橳oole emerged the victor with 57 per cent of the vote, a resounding victory over his rival Peter MacKay, who won 43 per cent.
Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola MP Dan Albas said O鈥橳oole鈥檚 vast private sector experience 鈥� both as a lawyer and a helicopter navigator in the Royal Canadian Air Force 鈥� has him well equipped to represent the beliefs of the people of the Central Okanagan.
鈥淗e鈥檚 already in the leader of the official Opposition鈥檚 office, doing the work and hitting the ground running exactly as he said he would,鈥� Albas said.
The high voter turnout 鈥� with over 175,000 ballots cast 鈥� shows the Conservative movement is very strong, Albas said, and people are interested in politics and want to see a change.
鈥淭he Conservative voters last night sent a very clear message to Ottawa,鈥� he said.
READ MORE: O鈥橳oole likely to move quickly to put stamp on federal Conservative party
READ MORE: Erin O鈥橳oole wins Conservative leadership after results delayed for hours
麻豆精选 Lake Country MP Tracy Gray said she spent a day and a half knocking on doors with O鈥橳oole last summer when she was in the midst of her own election campaign. To Gray, O鈥橳oole represents a movement towards unity in the large tent of beliefs that the Conservative party represents.
鈥淗e鈥檚 head down, hardworking and that鈥檚 what we need right now,鈥� said Gray, who endorsed O鈥橳oole throughout his campaign.
While Albas didn鈥檛 endorse any of the four candidates who ran for the party鈥檚 leadership, he鈥檚 fully supportive of the new leader.
鈥淗e brings a lot of perspective from outside of government鈥� and he has a lot of experience in the House as well,鈥� said Albas.
O鈥橳oole鈥檚 strong performance in both Western provinces and Quebec also bode confidence in local parliamentarians come the next election 鈥� whenever that may be.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has prorogued Parliament until Sept. 23, at which point he will give a throne speech. After that speech, opposing parties could potentially trigger an election with a non-confidence vote.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been a lot of speculation about what will happen in the fall and he has to be prepared for all of it,鈥� Albas said.
鈥淏ut given what happened in the leadership election and how good his French is, he can connect with people from right across this country in their own language and share his positive vision for this country.鈥�
Currently, Gray and Albas serve as critics in the official Opposition鈥檚 鈥渟hadow cabinet.鈥� Gray serves as the interprovincial trade critic, while Albas is the critic of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion.
鈥淭hat鈥檒l be up to the leader,鈥� Gray said when asked whether she anticipates her and Albas will keep their critic positions. 鈥淎nd of course, with the throne speech, we鈥檒l have to see if the government has confidence or if the government will fall.鈥�
-With files from The Canadian Press
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