Darren Fisher grabs Dartmouth-Cole Harbour from Robert Chisholm
Liberals reclaim riding lost by Mike Savage in 2011
A riding the NDP battled to retake in the last election has slid back to the Liberals, with municipal councillor Darren Fisher victorious in Dartmouth-Cole Harbour.
New Democrat incumbent Robert Chisholm failed to hang on to a riding he plucked from Mike Savage, who had held Dartmouth-Cole Harbour since 2004 and went on to become Halifax's mayor following his defeat.
In 2011, Chisholm rode the surge by the Jack Layton-led NDP. This time is was Fisher benefiting from the swell of support for Justin Trudeau and the Liberals.
"I think what we're seeing across the region is that people have decided they wanted change," Chisholm said. "But they decided they would accept the change Trudeau put on the table.
"There you go, it's just that simple."
Fisher said his campaign to win the seat meant 18 months of "sacrifices" from his family who had to do without him. He said he was "humbled" by the effort put in by supporters, friends and family.
"People were becoming more and more convinced as weeks went on that [Trudeau] was the guy to bring real change to Canada and he was the guy that people wanted to lead our country," Fisher said after his victory.
"In the last two or three weeks, it was palpable. It was at every door we heard, 'We really like the way Mr. Trudeau is handling himself, we really like the platform,' and we heard that loud and clear.
"But still, you don't expect the kind of numbers that we've seen. Honestly, I thought it was going to be really, really tight all across Atlantic Canada, but it's quite an endorsement."
Fisher said his campaign to win the seat meant 18 months of "sacrifices" from his family who had to do without him. He said he was "humbled" by the effort put in by supporters, friends and family.