Dennis Giesbrecht (right), Conservative Party of B.C. candidate for Vernon-Lumby, alongside party Leader, John Rustad, at an event in Vernon (Image Credit: Conservative Party of B.C.)

By Liam Verster / Vernon Matters

BC Votes

B.C. Conservative Giesbrecht reflects on close loss in Vernon-Lumby, still plans move to Vernon

Oct 29, 2024 | 4:11 PM

VERNON, B.C. — The Conservative Party of B.C. candidate for the Vernon-Lumby riding believes his name could still be on the ballot in the future.

Dennis Giesbrecht, the local Conservative candidate, lost to the NDP’s Harwinder Sandhu in the 2024 Provincial General Election. Sandhu earned 11,836, votes in the local riding and Giesbrecht finished second in a close race with 11,359 votes.

Speaking with Vernon Matters, Giesbrecht said he was very pleased with the campaigning efforts and the work done by his support team.

“My campaign manager compared it to ‘designing and building an airplane as you’re screaming down a runway,’ that’s kind of what the whole thing getting the campaign up and running was like,” Giesbrecht said.

“But I think we did really well, the team was good. Clearly the result wasn’t what we wanted.”

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He went on to add that he felt very supported in the riding both during and after the campaign.

“Just yesterday (Monday) I had four coffee meetings with supporters. They’re still engaged, they want to stay with the team and make sure we’ll have a bit more runway to set up for the next campaign,” Giesbrecht said, noting he was not ruling out a future foray into provincial politics.

“I really enjoy it, but it will depend a little bit on if it’s going to be one year out or are we going to be four years out. Four years is a long time, so we have to make sure we set the riding association up with the best chance of success.”

He also noted the party made some major gains following the collapse of B.C. United, the former B.C. Liberal Party, saying the Conservatives saw major growth and lots of support in both fundraising and votes.

Giesbrecht also said he “hopes [Sandhu] does a good job” in the upcoming term, but also said he would be watching “the track record with [NDP Leader] David Eby going forward.”

The Conservative candidate also told Vernon Matters he still plans to move to Vernon from Kamloops, where he resided as of time of publication.

Sandhu could not be immediately reached for comment about the vote results.