'A remarkable journey'

Ron Cannan waited until the bitter end to speak to supporters and admit defeat to Liberal Stephen Fuhr in Kelowna-Lake Country.

When the Tory MP of 9 1/2 years finally entered the room, he was met with cheers and hugs, but the indisputable air of disappointment couldn't be denied.

Supporters watched the results come in with sadness and almost a pang of agony, knowing not only would the Liberals have a majority government, but that Cannan had lost.

Despite several boundary changes and name switches, Kelowna-Lake Country has been a Conservative stronghold for 60 years. So much so that Prime Minister Stephen Harper didn't make a campaign stop in Kelowna when he visited the B.C. Interior.

However, Cannan accepted his loss with pride and praised both NDP candidate Norah Bowman and newly elected Liberal Stephen Furh for their efforts.

“Canada is the best country in the world to call home,” he said in his speech. “Thank you for this opportunity, the great community of Kelowna-Lake Country, for the last 9 1/2 years as the member of Parliament and before that as a city councillor from 1996 to the end of 2005. What a remarkable journey it has been.”

Cannan said he was surprised by many events that unfolded across the country Monday evening, but admitted Justin Trudeau ran what Cannan called a fantastic campaign and that Canadians wanted change.

He put his defeat down to two reasons.

“It was the combination of the perfect storm and the fact the Green vote, strategically, they moved over to the Liberals, they had a coalition agreement,” he explained. “The fact that the opposition provided some alternative change, there was a message the Prime Minister Stephen Harper, I guess, served his tenure for almost 10 years, and the community has spoken.”

He refused to accept that the social media campaign "Anyone but Harper" had anything to do with it, stating he was a part of a team.

“You work as a team. I’ve played sports all my life, and the fact is you celebrate as a team in victory and you go down as a team.”

Cannan said he will continue to serve the community "the best way I can, and have a bit of a normal life with my wife and family, and enjoy my three wonderful grandsons.”

He hasn’t thought of what he will do next, but would like to remain a part of the community in any way possible.