Harjit Sajjan reclaims Vancouver South for the Liberals
Riding was one of several to see controversial Conservative ethnic media ads
The hotly contested riding of Vancouver South returned to the Liberals Monday as Harjit Sajjan defeated Conservative incumbent Wai Young.
The riding has been a battleground riding since 2008 with Young a constant contender.
She lost to former B.C. Premier Ujjal Dosanjh in 2008 by just 20 votes, but came back to beat him in 2011. The riding itself has one of the largest immigrant populations in B.C. with high concentrations of both Indo-Canadians and Chinese Canadians.
Speaking with supporters, Sajjan recalled how he grew up only five blocks from where he was giving his acceptance speech at South Hall Banquet & Wedding Palace on Ross Street.
Former police officer
A lieutenant-colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and a former Vancouver police officer, Sajjan claimed his experience as a Vancouver police officer also gave him insight into a community concerned about crime.
NDP candidate Amandeep Nijjar also boasted deep roots in the community where she grew up.
Even before the campaign began, Young made headlines on social media with a speech in which she said Conservative leader Stephen Harper was working "in the same vein" as Jesus by passing anti-terror legislation.
But the battle really took flight in the final weeks of the campaign with controversy over Conservative attack ads which ran in Chinese and Punjabi, claiming Justin Trudeau supported the sale of marijuana to children, the expansion of safe injection sites and the establishment of neighbourhood brothels.
Sajjan disputed the ads, which spoke in part to growing concern in the neighbourhood about marijuana dispensaries. Conservative leader Stephen Harper defended them.