Nathan Cullen is out and Taylor Bachrach is in.
After over 15 years of serving the riding as the NDP’s member of Parliament for the region, Cullen officially finished his role on Sept. 11.
Bachrach was sworn in Nov. 19.
“I was thrilled and honoured to be sworn in yesterday as the Member of Parliament for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, alongside an amazing caucus,” Bachrach said in a Facebook post highlighting the event.
Bachrach won the riding, which has gone orange since its creation in the 2004 federal election, with 40.9 per cent of the popular vote.
READ MORE: Play-by-play: Bachrach new MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley
Conservative candidate Claire Rattée finished second with 33.4 per cent — 13,637 votes to Bachrach’s 16,670.
More than 61 per cent of registered electors came out to vote — 40,795 of 66,421 — not including electors who registered on election day.
When he won the race, Bachrach gave a special thanks to Cullen for his service.
Nathan is in Ottawa tonight, but I know there’s no place he’d rather be than here with us,” Bachrach said of his predecessor.
“We’ve knocked on thousands of doors over the last few months, and I can’t count the number of times I was told I have big shoes to fill.”
Bachrach said he is excited to get started on his MP duties.
READ MORE: Skeena-Bulkley Valley once again goes NDP
“I want to thank Jagmeet Singh for doing such a good job and bringing positive energy to this campaign, and just lighting people up across the country. I really can’t wait to work with this team of New Democrats from coast to coast.”
Prior to being elected as MP, Bachrach served as the mayor of Smithers from 2011-2019 and as a councillor for Telkwa from 2008-2011.
The NDP finished fourth overall, falling behind the Bloc Quebecois for seats with a total of 24 seats (a decrease of 15 compared to 2015).
They received just under 2.85 million popular votes for a total of 15.93 per cent of the popular vote, a decrease of 3.78 per cent compared to 2015.
trevor.hewitt@interior-news.com
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