Voters in northeast B.C. have handed Bob Zimmer another term in office - one he'll be serving on the Opposition benches.
While the party fell to Justin Trudeau's Liberals, more than 47 per cent of voters in Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies backed Zimmer in the first 45 per cent of returns, over second place Matt Shaw, who won 27 per cent of early polls.
At his Fort St. John headquarters, Zimmer said he was a "a little" surprised by the result.
"My first guess was a Conservative majority," he said. "My second was a Liberal minority. Third is what it is. The people of Canada have spoken, and we'll have to get to work when we get back."
He said he was less concerned about a Liberal government's impact on the oil patch than an NDP government.
"Some of the language the Libs have used isn't as strong as the NDP, so I'm encouraged things will keep moving along," he said. "I certainly hope so."
It will be the first time Zimmer, elected with the Conservative majority in 2011, has been in opposition.
Despite a second-place finish in 2011, the NDP under Kathi Dickie seemed set to come in third with 17 per cent of the vote.
It will be the first time since 2006 an MP from the Peace has sat in opposition.
Campaign manager Alvin Stedel thought the impact of a Liberal sweep in Atlantic Canada might have influenced area voters.
"I'm wondering if some of the knowledge people were able to pick up from the east didn't start to swing the vote from some NDP to Liberals," he said, of Matt Shaw's rise in the polls."
