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THURSDAY. OCT. 1 6. 2008 I SERVING THE COMMUNITY OF WHITCHURCH-STOUFFVILLE I 24 PAGES/$1 INCLUDING GST BY PATRICK MANGION Staff Writer A second consecutive Con- servative minority government gouged some serious holes in the Liberals’ 905 fortress Tuesday, producing a stunning new politi- cal landscape in York Region. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s victory was the least- surprising outcome of the night, however, three former Liberal seats, overtaken by Conservative candidates in York, underscored a miserable performance by the Grits in what was widely considâ€" ered the party's stronghold. The Tories finally made their long anticipated Ontario break- through, gaining 11 seats. Three of those seats were won in York Region, where Peter Kent, Lois Brown and Paul Calandra top- pled Liberal incumbents. u n Tories make T inroads in York Region , ridings When the dust settled from the 2006 election, York-Simcoe Conservative MP Peter Van Loan was outnumbered 6â€"1 by Liberal MPs in York Region. Today, it is 43 in favour of the Tories. Liberals Tim Jones. in New- market-Aurora, and incumbents Susan Kadis, Thomhill and Lui Temelkovski, Oak Ridges~ Markham, were defeated. Bryon Wilfert, John McCal- lum and Maurizio Bevilacqua â€"â€" stalwarts from former prime minister lean Chretien’s Liberal government â€"- retained their _ Former stonghold no more for Liberals Sec BUSINESS, [mgr 8 THURSDAY, OCT. 1 6 2008 I SERVINGTHE COMMUNITY OFWHITCHURCHâ€"STOUFFVILLE I 24 PAGES/$1 INCLUDINGGST I CONSERVATIVES CRASH LUI’S PARTY BY AMANDA PERSICO Staff Writer Empty champagne glasses remained on the counter top at St. Dirriitrija Solunsld Macedonian Orthodox Church in Markham. Friends, fatnin and campaign sup- porters waited for Liberal incum- bent, Lui Thmelkovski to arrive. In one of Canada's largest rid- ings, with more than 135,000 vot- ers, calculating the final numbers went on well into yesterday’s early N0 CHAMPAGNE THIS TIME AROUND, AS STDUFFVILLE’S CALANDRA WINS OAK RIDGES-MARKHAM Defeated Liberal incumbent Lui Temelkovski (right) congratulates newlyeelected Oak Ridges-Markham Con- servative MP Paul Calandra at the Calandra victory party at Boston Pizza in Stouffville early yesterday mornâ€" ing. The pair took turns in the lead throughout the evening before Mr. Calandra won by about 400 votes. “We're winning today," Mr. Temelkovski said as he arrived around midnight. “And we’re count- ing tomonow." morning hours. With 350 of 364 reporting three hours after the polls closed, the margin between Mr. Temelkovski and his Conservative contender, Whitchurch-Stouffville resident Paul Calandra. was less than 500 votes. The champagne glasses remained empty. CONGRATULATORY VISIT ved mt- Mr. Temelkovski, who won in 2004 and 2006 by more than 6,000 in both elections, thanked every- one in the basement of the church decorated with red and white bal- loons and Canadian flags. “We have to make sure Oak Ridgesâ€"Markham has a good voice, because it’s used to having a good voice in Ottawa," he said. A hush came over the crowd as the riding name flashed across the screen and showed Mr. Calandra was ahead by 18 votes. The ticker Opinion . . . Things to do Sports . . . . . Classified . . went across the "IV set as people waited for the final numbers. The final result was posted after 1 am, and, to the church crowd’s surprise, Mr. Calandra won the seat with 42.1 per cent of the vote. Mr. Temelkovski was at 41.5 per cent, about 400 votes behind. is such a surprise," said Bill Attwell, Mr. Temelkovski's cam- paign manager. “ (Mr. Temelkovski) had more invites and such positive StouflviIeStudoTomhopesfor anofloenecordweekend See WIN-WIN, page 10‘ STAFF PHOTO/AMANDA PERSICO 6312 Main St 905-640-4646 ll 17