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Tory candidate Blair Houston, a restaurant owner, was third with 22 per cent of the vote.

Less than 90 minutes after polls closed, the NDP had issued a concession through a news release from Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci congratulating Panda on the victory.

People are so worried about the NDP’s ideology. They didn’t want to experiment with this risky agenda

“We knew that it would be an uphill battle given the history of the riding and the economic challenges we face because of the collapse in oil prices,” said Ceci.

“We hear the concerns about oil prices loud and clear. And we are working hard to release an economic recovery plan in the coming weeks.”

Hawkesworth urged his supporters to put things into perspective.

“In a byelection less than a year ago, we polled less than five per cent in Calgary Foothills. So before we say it’s too bad about tonight, at least we were contenders and we came close.”

Panda told his raucous supporters he wanted to keep the evening celebratory and didn’t want to talk policy, but he did have one message for the NDP government.

“Calgary is worried about jobs and the premier needs to understand that,” he said. “People are so worried about the NDP’s ideology. They didn’t want to experiment with this risky agenda.”

The byelection in Calgary-Foothills was called after former Tory premier Jim Prentice won the riding on election night in May only to resign from politics the same night when his party was handed their walking papers by Premier Rachel Notley’s NDP.

Some pollsters, including Janet Brown of Calgary, expected it to be a hotly contested race between the NDP and the Wildrose.