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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Dennis Bevington was re-elected Western Arctic MP in the latest federal election, despite earning fewer votes the capital city than runner-up Conservative candidate Brendan Bell.

Elections Canada released poll-by-poll results of the Western Arctic riding late last week. Bell, a Yellowknife resident, took 2,475 votes in the territory's largest city, with Bevington nipping at his heels with 2,369 - a 106-vote difference.

Dennis Bevington: Returns to Ottawa Yellowknife Breakdown Brendan Bell, Conservative 2,475 (NWT total: 5,146) Dennis Bevington, NDP 2,369 (NWT total: 5,669) Gabrielle Mackenzie-Scott, Liberal 753 (NWT total: 1,858) Sam Gamble, Green 371 (NWT total: 752) Noeline Villebrun, First Peoples' 48 (NWT total: 252) How Yk voted: Ndilo/Old Town: NDP 269, Con 173, Lib 87, Green 42, FPNP 16 School Draw: NDP 232, Con 156, Lib 68, Green 37, FPNP 7 Downtown: NDP 733, Con 645, Lib 209, Green 144, FPNP 19 Niven: Con 117, NDP 84, Lib 43, Green 12 Range Lake: Con 201, NDP 151, Lib 16, Green 10, FPNP 1 Frame Lake/Kam Lake: Con 936, NDP 730, Lib 170, Green 101, FPNP 5 Airport/Ingraham Trail: Con 228, NDP 139, Lib 27, Green 18

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said Yellowknife has had a recent history of voting against incumbents.

"Yellowknife has bucked the trend in the past," said Van Tighem.

"I think Yellowknife was looking for change, as was Hay River and Inuvik, but the smaller communities carried through, as had happened when Ethel was in," he said, referring to former-Liberal MP Ethel Blondin-Andrews, who served the Western Arctic for 18 years.

"Brendan is a native son and fairly high-profile, as a former cabinet minister, but Dennis was the incumbent and the incumbent carries great weight in the North."

Van Tighem said Bevington's background as a former Fort Smith mayor and president of the NWT Association of Communities means community needs are definitely on his radar.

"He has a very good understanding of what the needs of communities are and can speak knowledgeably to that," he said.

Van Tighem added that Bevington's challenge now lies in having to work as an opposition member in the House of Commons.

Henry White, owner of Henry's Barbershop, held his own barber's poll leading up to the election, where patrons were encouraged to participate in the secret ballot.

His final results in Yellowknife weren't far off.

Conservatives received 138 votes, followed by the NDP at 102, Liberals at 28 and the Greens at 16.

White believed Bell's popularity factor as a Yellowknife resident contributed to his success in the capital city.

"I figured Brendan Bell was going to take Yellowknife and he took Yellowknife," said White, who came to that conclusion from the general consensus of speaking with his customers.

Bell wasn't the top choice for all Yellowknife suburbs, though. Poll-by-poll numbers show a clear divide within the city between older and newer areas of Yellowknife.

Bevington took Old Town, School Draw and downtown districts of the city, while Bell beat him out in Frame Lake, Kam Lake and Range Lake.

Bevington, who called while on his way to Ottawa, told Yellowknifer he was pleased with the results.

"The knock on me in the last election was that my last mandate was only from the larger centres, so I'm very pleased with the results I got this time where I got support from all over," he said.

Bevington said he had to respect the support Bell got from his hometown. He added many of the issues facing Yellowknife - like the cost of living and political "evolution" of resources and responsibilities - spanned the whole territory.

"After an election is over, I always act as responsible to everybody," he said.

"I don't tend to focus on one group or another."