Liberal candidate Stephen Fuhr elected in battleground Kelowna riding

Liberal candidate Stephen Fuhr has been elected in the Kelowna, B.C., riding, according to Elections Canada.

On Tuesday afternoon, Elections Canada said 100 per cent of polls were reporting and Fuhr beat Conservative candidate Tracy Gray by 1,077 votes.

If the margin between two candidates is 0.1 per cent or less, it will trigger an automatic recount.

2:12 Canada Election 2025: Close race in Kelowna riding

Just over 66 per cent of eligible voters in the Kelowna riding voted in this federal election.

“I’m happy.” Fuhr told Global News. “I’m happy that we were successful. It’s always nice to be successful when you do something that’s very difficult.”

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As expected, the race between Fuhr and Gray was extremely close with Fuhr holding only a narrow lead over Gray throughout the night.

At one point, Fuhr was only ahead by 66 votes.

The race was too close to call on election night and it wasn’t until Tuesday afternoon that constituents learned who would be representing them in Ottawa.

It’s not the first time Fuhr, a former Royal Canadian Airforce pilot, made a breakthrough in what’s historically conservative territory.

In 2015, Fuhr ousted then longtime Conservative MP Ron Cannan.

The Conservatives took back the seat in 2019 with Gray’s win but now, six years later, history has repeated itself.

“I was an MP so I’m not going to deny that wasn’t helpful, so there wasn’t a big risk.  People were familiar with me and what I was able to do for the community the first time,” Fuhr said.

Fuhr also added that Kelowna and the surrounding area has changed and become more urban in recent years.

“I just see these skyscrapers coming up from the centre of the city so you know more urban ridings in Canada tend to be more progressive,” he said.

Global News reached out to Gray on Tuesday but did not hear back by publication time.

2:16 Ex-BC Liberal premiers endorse opposing Kelowna candidates

It was an eventful election in B.C.’s Interior.

Conservative former MLA Ellis Ross flipped Skeena-Bulkley Valley in the Northwest, and Conservative Helena Konanz flipped Similkameen-South Okanagan-West Kootenay as Pierre Poilievre’s party painted virtually every riding in in the region blue.

As for Fuhr, he said he’s ready to get to work for a country not only in crisis but one the election proved remains divided.

“I can build bridges where they need to be built,” Fuhr said.