Kevin Barr was far from winning the seat he sought in Parliament in Monday's election.

That didn't stop him and other local New Democrats, however, from celebrating as it was announced the party had risen to become the official Opposition in the House of Commons.

"What about that? We are the official Opposition!” an excited Barr said to loud applause within Antoinette's on Fourth Avenue, where local supporters were gathered to take in the results and support their local candidate.

It was evident by the time Barr walked into the restaurant at 8:45 p.m. that he wouldn't be taking the seat, but the mood was decidedly upbeat as he focused on the national results.

As he pointed out, even at the local level, the party was doing better than it did in the 2008 federal election.

Final results, tallied later in the evening, would show 2,308 voters – or 14.4 per cent - cast their ballots for Barr. That compares to 1,306 or nine per cent who voted for NDP candidate Ken Bolton in the 2008 election.

Barr was 729 votes behind Green Party candidate John Streicker, who had 3,037 votes or 18.9 per cent.

Incumbent Liberal MP Larry Bagnell lost his seat by just 132 votes – with 5,290 or 32.9 per cent of voters casting ballots in his favour – to Conservative Ryan Leef, who will go to Ottawa with 5,422 votes or 33.8 per cent of the Yukon's vote.

Before Barr addressed the large crowd beneath the orange streamers and balloons, campaign manager Liz Wood offered her praise for the candidate.

"He has been absolutely incredible. Kevin cares so much about the Yukon,” she said just before Barr addressed the crowd of about 75.

After pointing to the federal success the NDP was experiencing, he spoke of the local situation, pointing out his campaign began a couple of weeks later than his competitors after he defeated Yukon Federation of Labour president Alex Furlong at the NDP's nomination meeting in late March.

And while the federal and territorial NDP are two separate entities, Barr believes the momentum built up in the federal election for the NDP will bode well for the territorial election that has to be called by Oct. 14.

"We're going to continue to fight for the marginalized people,” he said.

Speaking to reporters, Barr didn't rule out seeking a territorial seat this fall under the NDP banner.

"I'm going to have to think about it,” he said.

Throughout the federal campaign, Barr said he continually heard of issues around affordable housing, First Nations concerns, the impact of the mining boom on the envirornment and more.

And while the federal official opposition will be up against a majority Conservative government, Barr is confident the NDP will be heard.

"They're a strong voice,” he said, citing numerous examples where the party has "put forward some of the toughest things” other parties didn't want including health care.

As he spoke, more and more well-wishers and supporters arrived with handshakes and hugs for the social worker/musician.

Among them was a group of runners making their way around town to each party's election celebrations.

Furlong also came in, shaking hands with Barr.

As he told reporters later, he was there to support both the party and Barr.

As others took time to savour the NDP's success in becoming the official Opposition for the first time in history, Furlong – who said he was pleased with the NDP's success – was not so optimistic about the future.

The work of labour groups in the country has increased "20-fold” with the election of a Conservative majority, he said.

The Conservatives don't have a good track record on labour issues or women's rights among a number of other matters, Furlong argued.

The election and how to deal with the new make-up of the government will no doubt be a major issue next month when the Canadian Labour Congress meets in Vancouver, he added.

Furlong also vowed to hold Leef to his word on voting for his constituents even if it goes against the wishes of his party.

As Furlong pointed out, Leef will no doubt have a steep learning curve about how the political system works when he gets to Ottawa.

Territorial NDP Leader Liz Hanson, who displayed her party's orange with a scarf, was among those savouring the federal NDP success.

"I'm just elated,” she said after listening to federal Leader Jack Layton's address to his supporters.

She admitted a Conservative majority will make things more of a challenge for the federal NDP, but like Barr, she was also quick to make note of past legislation led by the NDP that has been passed with fewer NDP members both at the federal and territorial levels.

"Jack Layton is going to have a major job ahead of him, and he's up to it,” she said.

Health care, the territory's Smoke-Free Places Act and others were all brought forward by the NDP, she said.

She suggested the results display the need to explore the country's electoral system with fewer than 50 per cent of voters electing a majority Conservative government.

And while Hanson also issued her congratulations to Green Party Leader Elizabeth May on winning her seat – marking the first time the Green Party has won a seat – she noted her concerns about the impact vote splitting between the Greens and the NDP may have had locally.

It's something she said she plans to look at in the future.

As for whether the federal results will make any difference in the territorial election, Hanson noted historically, territorial and federal politics are very different, with voters often looking to the individual when they vote federally in the territory compared to voting by the party at the territorial level.

In the upcoming territorial election, she said, her party will focus on putting forward its ideas and letting the voters decide.

Though Hanson isn't counting on the federal results as an indicator for how the territorial vote will go in the fall, a recent poll by DataPath Systems shows support for the Yukon NDP at 30 per cent, just two points behind the reigning Yukon Party's 32 per cent, while support for the territorial Liberals is at 25 per cent.

Williard Phelps' United Citizens Party has five per cent support with "other” parties – which would likely include the Green Party – at eight per cent.

The excitement over the NDP's national success continued into the evening though it hadn't started out that way.

Just a few fervent supporters – many sporting NDP orange clothes or pins declaring their support for Barr or Layton – gathered in the restaurant to take in the early coverage of the results on CBC.

As the evening wore on and more supporters walked through the door, it soon became clear the Conservatives would have a majority government and with CBC's declaration first came quiet comments of disbelief:

"Oh no”, "Boo”, "I can't believe that”, "Isn't that crazy?”.

The mood of the room began changing as coverage moved to NDP Trinity-Spadina MP (and Layton's wife) Olivia Chow celebrating her re-election.

One woman at Antoinette's applauded as Chow declared: "I am so proud to be a New Democrat.”

As more came in to the restaurant, local cheering for the federal situation grew as coverage showed Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff (who lost his own Ontario seat and declared this morning he would step down) stating his congratulations to "the new leader of the official Opposition”.

Layton would later issue congratulations to Ignatieff on "a hard-fought and respectful campaign.”

While the local party continued, Barr eventually made his way up to the local Conservatives victory party to congratulate Leef on his new status of MP-designate.