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NDP enthused about national, local finish

Piotr Majkowski got 11,235 votes Monday, the most ever for an NDP candidate in the Langley federal riding
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Piotr Majkowski speaks to NDP supporters at the Steelworkers Hall Monday night

Despite finishing second, Langley NDP members were very enthused about the results of Monday's federal election — both nationally and locally.

Candidate Piotr Majkowski gained 11,235 votes — the most ever by an NDP candidate in Langley — and the party feels energized to fight another federal election in four years, and a provincial election as soon as September.

"We have made an historic achievement here in Langley," Majkowski told a cheering crowd of supporters on Monday night at the Steelworkers Hall in North Langley.

"I knocked on over 4,000 doors, we put out 30,000 leaflets, called 3,000 homes and put on the largest campaign the NDP have ever mounted in Langley," said Majkowski, a 26-year-old nurse who made health care one of the dominant themes of his campaign.

"I'm incredibly happy about this result," Majkowski said. "Tomorrow, we continue to build on the momentum we've created here, so that in the next election, we will be the winning party in Langley."

Langley federal NDP president Shane Dyson said Majkowski "did a stellar job" as the party's candidate, and his showing of close to 21 per cent of the vote is "a stunning point for us."

He attributed the gains to steady and positive campaigns by past federal candidates Dean Morrison (2004), Angel Claypool (2006) and Andrew Claxton (2008). All worked to boost the percentage of NDP votes in the riding.

Dyson also noted that the campaign attracted a strong team of young, enthusiastic workers, under the leadership of campaign manager Andrew Mercier.

"There is a youthquake going on," he said.

Dyson said the party's strong showing bodes well for the provincial election, which he said could come as soon as September. Both provincial NDP candidates in the 2009 election, Kathleen Stephany in Langley and Gail Chaddock-Costello in Fort Langley-Aldergrove, were in attendance at Monday's event.