With 100 of 298 polls reporting in Vancouver Island North, Conservative incumbent John Duncan has fallen behind his NDP challenger.
Ronna-Rae Leonard, a City of Courtenay councillor, leads with 6,739 votes, a 233-vote margin over Conservative Duncan, who has won the sprawling riding in five of the past six elections.
Leonard holds 45.1 per cent of the riding’s popular vote, with Duncan at 43.6.
Sue Moen of the Green Party is surprisingly leading Liberal Mike Holland, reflecting the Liberals’ collapse nationally. At the latest count, Moen had 830 votes to Holland’s 766.
Independent Jason Draper and Frank Martin of the Marxist-Leninist Party trailed them with 85 and 11 votes respectively.
Nationally, the Conservatives have gained the majority leader Stephen Harper had called for and the NDP have vaulted into second place in the House of Commons.
The Liberals have toppled into a distant third place, the Bloc Quebecois is almost wiped out and the Greens have elected their first candidate in North American history.
