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Wayne Long projected to hold Saint John-Rothesay for Liberals

Wayne Long was emotional Monday night as he celebrated his third win in Saint John-Rothesay. (Graham Thompson/CBC - image credit)
Wayne Long was emotional Monday night as he celebrated his third win in Saint John-Rothesay. (Graham Thompson/CBC - image credit)

Liberal Wayne Long has been projected the winner in Saint John-Rothesay, a riding that's been historically close but consecutively red.

Long's early lead continued to increase Monday night, with the gap between him and Conservative candidate Mel Norton widening as the night went on.

A few hours after the polls closed, CBC projected victory for Long, his third in federal politics.

At O'Leary's pub in uptown Saint John, Long struggled to speak over cheers of "Go, Long, go."

"I think people see how hard I worked, how hard our team worked," he said. "This was us against everybody."

Long said he's going to continue the work that he's started such a Port Saint John expansion project,

"I want to continue to deliver leadership to this riding," he said.

As of midnight Long had 46 per cent of the vote with Norton holding 33 per cent.

In third place is NDP candidate Don Paulin with 13 per cent.

Norton conceded the race to Long in a short phone call Monday night.

"I think it was a good conversation," Norton said. "I offered him congratulations."

O'Toole's efforts to address PPC vote splitting

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole visited Saint John last week and appeared with five of his New Brunswick candidates, including Norton.

He asked supporters of the People's Party of Canada to put their stock in him because of his better chance of replacing Justin Trudeau.

He sent a clear signal to supporters of the People's Party of Canada that they should be supporting him instead.

"Channel that frustration to replace Mr. Trudeau," he told them.

Rachel Cave/CBC
Rachel Cave/CBC

People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier had made an appearance in Saint John the week before last. Saint John-Rothesay candidate and political newcomer Nicholas Pereira showed the leader around the city and had a rally at Kings' Square in the city's uptown.

As of midnight, Pereira was in fourth place with five per cent of the vote.

Long has campaigned on putting the riding's interests before the party's and standing up to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau when he thought it necessary.

"That's what makes our country better, when they can elect MPs that aren't afraid to stand up and speak up," Long said.