Martin wins in Morris

Victory music didn't blast from overhanging speakers nor did balloons and confetti fall from the sky.

An hour after the polls closed in a byelection for the provincial legislative seat in the Morris constituency, Shannon Martin sauntered up to the podium and said, "I think we are ready to call it."

In his victory speech at the Kingswood Golf & Country Club, Martin said that he was as "stressed out today as he was on his wedding day" but he didn't show it or needed to be.

It came as little surprise to anyone following the election that Martin, a Conservative candidate, won in Morris. The constituency has been represented by a PC member since 1954.

As soon as the first polls began reporting shortly after 7 p.m., it was evident that Martin would capture the seat.

The final vote tally for Martin was 2,642. That dwarfed the number posted by the second place finisher, NDP candidate Dean Harder, who captured 488. In fact, it more than doubled the 1,133 votes that the other four candidates collected on election day.

Martin's win, along with fellow PC member Doyle Piwniuk victory the same night in an Arthur-Virden byelection, gives the provincial Conservatives 19 seats. While they still trail the NDP, which holds control with 37 seats (Liberals have one), the wins have given some party members hope for the next election.

"We are getting tired of finishing in second place," said Morden-Winkler MLA Cameron Friesen afterwards. "It's about us as a party introducing ourselves to Manitobans and letting them know we have a different vision for the future of Manitoba."

A general election is expected to be held in Manitoba in October 2015. It will be then we will find out if voters across the province share that same vision.