VANCOUVER , British Columbia — Residents in British Columbia proved themselves contrarians in Monday's election, shifting to the political left while much of the country drifted to the right.
The Conservative Party emerged from Canada 's national election with a minority government, but saw its hold on British Columbia drop from 22 seats to 17 seats as it lost ground to both the New Democrats and Liberals.
"You've got to love B.C. When the bandwagon rolls across the country, we're the ones at the back leaping off," wrote Tom Barrett, a columnist for thetyee.ca, a respected on-line publication that covers British Columbia politics.
The left-leaning New Democratic Party emerged with 10 seats, double what it won in the last election. The Liberals were knocked out of power nationally, but ended up with nine seats in British Columbia, one more than in 2004.
When polls showed the Conservative Leader Stephen Harper pulling ahead by mid-campaign, some media commentators in British Columbia suggested the province could benefit from holding him to a minority government.
British Columbians have long complained of being ignored in Ottawa, but Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed B.C. lawmakers to prominent posts in his cabinet after emerging from the 2004 vote with only a minority.
NDP leader Jack Layton also spent significant campaign time in the province, including two of the election's final four days.
British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell denied his province was out of step with the rest of the country, noting that the Conservatives' share of the popular vote was actually higher than in the last election.
"Any time the non-New Democrat vote splits, the NDP often elects people," said Campbell, of the B.C. Liberal Party.
Campbell maintained public neutrality in the federal race, because, despite its name, the British Columbia Liberals are a coalition of federal Liberals and Conservatives, and politically more conservative than the national party.
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