CALGARY – Prab Gill will become the next MLA for the riding of Calgary-Greenway after emerging victorious in Tuesday’s byelection.
The Progressive Conservative candidate received the most votes, followed most closely by Wildrose candidate Devinder Toor in what turned out to be quite a close four-way race.
A short time before all 67 polls were reported, the Wildrose’s Devinder Toor conceded defeat to PC candidate Prab Gill who won by a 335-vote margin.
Unofficial results suggest Gill earned 2,292 votes, Toor earned 1,957 votes, the Liberal party’s Khalil Karbani received 1,870 votes and the New Democrats’ Roop Rai earned 1,667 votes.
Gill will replace former PC MLA Manmeet Bhullar, who was killed in late November after helping a fellow driver on the QEII Highway. The seat has been vacant since he died.
READ MORE: Calgary byelection 2016: Calgary-Greenway profile
In a statement, interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives Ric McIver congratulated Gill and welcomed him to caucus.
“On behalf of all my Progressive Conservative colleagues, I congratulate Prab and his team on their by-election victory and welcome him to our caucus,” McIver said.
“Calgary-Greenway has long enjoyed a history of excellent provincial representation,” McIver added. “I am so pleased to know that this proud tradition will continue, and that Manmeet Bhullar’s legacy of dedicated community service will live on.”
Besides running a business in the oilfield construction industry, Gill has served as a member of two provincial government boards.
He has lived in Calgary for 16 years with his wife and two children.
According to Elections Alberta, almost 2,400 votes were cast in four days of advance polls in Calgary-Greenway, beginning March 16. In comparison, 2,966 ballots were cast in the same constituency during the four-day period prior to last May’s provincial election.