Tory Steven Fletcher has been elected in the hotly contested Assiniboia riding, CTV News Winnipeg has declared.

Fletcher beat out New Democrat Joe McKellep, Liberal Ian McCausland, and Green Party candidate Ileana Ohlsson.

The constituency used to be a Conservative stronghold, until NDP Jim Rondeau took the reins in 1999. Rondeau held the seat until this year, but the well-known politician didn’t seek re-election.

Rondeau hoped to pass the banner on to NDP candidate McKellep, a longtime civil servant and former RCMP auxiliary constable.

Fletcher held the federal seat for Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia for more than a decade.