Trudeau-mania is alive and well in Winnipeg.

As Canadians toasted the prime minister-elect in most regions of the country on Monday night, the local chapter of the Liberal machine happily painted Winnipeg red, claiming Tory ridings in Winnipeg South Centre, Winnipeg South, St. Boniface-St. Vital, Kildonan-St. Paul, and — most shockingly of all — Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley, where Steven Fletcher was routed by upstart ER physician Doug Eyolfson.

“There’s a lot of things the Liberal Party has said they want to do, and I’m excited to be a part of that,” a beaming Eyolfson, who had taken a leave of absence from his job as an emergency room physician six months ago to campaign in a riding few believed he could actually win.

Kevin Lamoureux, who entered election night as the only Liberal MP in Manitoba, also scored a resounding victory in Winnipeg North. In addition to Eyolfson, he’ll now be joined on the Liberal benches by Manitoba colleagues Dan Vandal, Jim Carr, Terry Duguid, MaryAnn Mihychuk, and Robert-Falcon Ouellette — all first-time winners on Monday night.

Ouellette, a year almost to the day removed from losing in his bid to become Winnipeg’s mayor, said working to win Winnipeg Centre away from longtime NDP incumbent Pat Martin was an arduous but worthwhile process.

“Door-to-door, day in, day out. We’ve been doing it since April, talking to people on the doorsteps, just connecting to people and talking to them about what we want to see happen,” Ouellette said. “We knew we had a good base to start with, but at the end of the day that handshake and talking to people about what they want to have in their community, what they want to see for their community.”

Across the province, the Liberals claimed more than 44% of the popular vote, the Tories had 39%, and the NDP only had 12.7%. The results were slightly stronger for the Liberals in Winnipeg.

Earlier in the day, voters told the Sun they had tired of the Harper government and wanted them out.

“What I see is many Canadians dissatisfied with the way the current government is being operated,” said Jane Puchniak. “I contacted everyone I could get hold of today to make sure they vote because I’m very concerned for our continued collective prosperity.”

Nowhere was the desire for change more apparent than in St. James, where Steven Fletcher — the area’s MP for the past 11 years — went down in spectacular fashion to Eyolfson, a relative unknown who benefitted from the NDP replacing their candidate midway through the campaign. There had been talk in recent days that Fletcher may have been in trouble, a thought that would have been dismissed and mocked only weeks earlier.

Gordon Giesbrecht, who failed to hold Winnipeg South for the Tories, said it was a bad night for the party that he and other local candidates couldn’t fight.

“When Steven Fletcher loses, I certainly can’t hang my head here,” he said. “This is part of the crimson tide across the country.”

Only one Winnipeg riding didn't go Liberal. A dramatic race in Elmwood-Transcona ended with NDPer Daniel Blaikie — the son of former longtime area MP Bill Blaikie — besting Conservative incumbent Lawrence Toet by a mere 51 votes. A recount is not required under the Elections Act but could still be requested.

— With files from Kevin King