It was a sombre evening at NDP headquarters at the Hilton Metrotown on Monday night, where Jagmeet Singh, leader of the federal NDP, addressed a packed ballroom with tears in his eyes.

Singh announced he would be stepping down as party leader, a decision met with an audible "no" from the crowd. There weren’t many dry eyes as Singh spoke emotionally about his journey and the sacrifices made.

"We may lose sometimes, and those losses hurt. It’s tough. But we are only defeated if we stop fighting," he said. "We're only defeated when we start believing those who tell us we can never dream of a better Canada, a fairer Canada, a more compassionate Canada."

Singh thanked his supporters and singled out his wife, correcting an omission from the last election.

"For the past couple of years, I’ve been regretting that I didn’t thank my wife properly on that night. This is my opportunity to do that. She has literally been my rock. I couldn't have done this without her," he said, stepping away from the podium to give her a hug and a kiss.

As he left the stage to chants of his name, it marked the end of an era for the NDP.

Beech carries the faith and the riding

Meanwhile, across town, the mood was far more upbeat at Liberal MP Terry Beech’s campaign event at Joey’s in Brentwood. Supporters erupted into cheers as results confirmed Beech's re-election in Burnaby North–Seymour.

"I mean, it's the strongest result we've ever had. So that's quite humbling," Beech said in an interview. "Certainly, going door to door, there were a lot of people that were concerned about what was happening in the US, a lot of people concerned about affordability, and a lot of people concerned about Pierre Poilievre potentially being Prime Minister."

Beech noted that even during the bleak days of last December, when polls showed the Liberals lagging, he kept the faith. "I'm the most optimistic person in the Liberal caucus,” he said. “When we had a caucus meeting in December and people were kind of down and out, I was the one at the microphone telling everybody: ‘Talk to your constituents, keep working hard, things are going to be okay.’"

However, Beech expressed disappointment over the lack of participation from his Conservative opponent during the campaign.

"This is the first time that I went to a debate and there was no Conservative there in Burnaby," he said. "I hope this is a lesson to future Conservative candidates. I don't think people in our community respect the 'hide and seek' approach to politics."

Full Election Results in Burnaby
Burnaby Central Liberal
Wade Chang captured Burnaby Central with 21,136 votes (42.1%), ahead of Conservative James Yan, who earned 19,436 votes (38.7%). NDP leader Jagmeet Singh finished third with 9,104 votes (18.1%). Richard Farbridge of the People's Party of Canada finished with 495 votes (1.0%). Voter turnout was 59.53%.

Burnaby North–Seymour
Terry Beech won a commanding victory with 36,474 votes (58.7%), compared to Conservative Mauro Francis' 21,268 votes (34.2%) and NDP candidate Michael Charrois' 4,019 votes (6.5%). Jesse Fulton of the People's Party of Canada received 363 votes (0.6%). Voter turnout was strong at 69.63%.

Burnaby–New Westminster–Maillardville
The race was much tighter here. Liberal Jake Sawatzky won with 19,122 votes (34.9%), narrowly edging out incumbent and NDP stalwart Peter Julian with 17,357 votes (31.7%). Conservative Indy Panchi was third with 17,174 votes (31.4%), while the Green Party’s Tara Shushtarian received 728 votes (1.3%), and independent Lourence Singh, who initially was the Conservative candidate, garnered 378 votes (0.7%). Voter turnout was 65.91%.

Vancouver Fraserview–Burnaby South
Former Vancouver mayor and Happy Planet Juice King Gregor Robertson had a victorious re-entry into politics, handily winning the riding with 26,367 votes (52.1%). Conservative Avi Nayyar earned 18,168 votes (35.9%), while NDP candidate Manoj Bhangu finished with 4,949 votes (9.8%). Alexander Dow of the Green Party secured 645 votes (1.3%), and Desiderio Magtanggol "Bon" Reyes of the People's Party of Canada received 472 votes (0.9%). Voter turnout was 60.38%.