The latest on the British Columbia election

VANCOUVER — 11:35

Election night is coming to a close in B.C. with the results in four ridings likely to be left undecided until the results of mail-in ballots are known.

The Liberals hold slender leads in two of the ridings: Abbotsford-Mission and Vernon-Monashee, while the NDP hold the lead in the remaining two.

Results as of election night have the NDP elected in 53 seats, an increase of 12 from before the election.

Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson has not conceded the election, saying the results of the mail-in ballots need to be known first.

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11:05 p.m. PT

Six ridings will remain in the balance over the coming days in the British Columbia election.

The ridings include Chilliwack-Kent where former B.C. Liberal candidate Laurie Throness has been in a back-and-forth race with his NDP challenger.

Throness was listed as a Liberal on the ballot but resigned from the party midway through the campaign to become an Independent after coming under fire for likening free birth control to eugenics.

The Liberals have an edge in two of the six ridings yet to be called, with candidates in Abbotsford-Mission and Vernon-Monashee holding leads of less than 200 votes each.

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10:40 p.m. PT 

NDP Leader John Horgan says he will go back to work on Monday and focus on helping residents get through the COVID-19 pandemic as he awaits the final results of the B.C. election.

Like Wilkinson, Horgan acknowledged the high number of mail-in ballots that need to be counted.

Horgan says he will invest in schools, long-term care and childcare.

The NDP have been elected in at least 50 ridings, including in North Vancouver-Seymour where Liberal incumbent Jane Thornthwaite has lost her seat to her NDP rival.

Thornwaite was criticized by opposition politicians for comments she made about fellow North Vancouver MLA Bowinn Ma during a celebratory roast for a retiring colleague in September.

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10:25 p.m. PT

Opposition Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson says it appears the NDP will have the opportunity to form the B.C. government, but he notes there are still at least half a million ballots to count. 

Wilkinson, who earlier was re-elected to his seat of Vancouver-Quilchena, says mail-in ballots will determine the final results.

Liberal incumbents Todd Stone, Mike Bernier and Teresa Wat have been re-elected, although several Liberal incumbents lost their seats Saturday. 

Both Liberals Mary Polak and Sam Sullivan lost their seats. 

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10:10 p.m. PT

Attorney General David Eby has been re-elected to the B.C. legislature as results continue to roll in for the provincial election.

Eby was first elected in 2013, edging out former B.C. premier Christy Clark.

Former journalist and Liberal MLA Jas Johal has lost his re-election bid in Richmond.

Aman Singh, who challenged Johal for the riding in the last provincial election and lost by less than 200 votes, has won Richmond-Queensborough.

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9:55 p.m. PT

Former New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen has won on his first attempt at provincial politics.

Cullen won his riding of Stikine, despite facing a backlash after he was overheard making negative comments about a B.C. Liberal candidate in a neighbouring riding.

The Greens have picked up a third, with Jeremy Valeriote winning West Vancouver-Sea to Sky to join Green Leader Sonia Furstenau and Adam Olsen as the party’s representatives in the legislature.

Longtime Liberal MLA Shirley Bond won her sixth term, winning Prince-George Valemount.

9:40 p.m. PT

The riding that was once held by former Green party leader Andrew Weaver has been won by the NDP in the B.C. election.

Former New Democrat member of Parliament Murray Rankin, who represented Victoria federally, beat the Green party in Oak Bay-Gordon Head.

Education Minister Rob Fleming has also been re-elected on Vancouver Island, holding his seat of Victoria-Swan Lake.

Fleming had faced criticism from the BC Teachers’ Federation over the handling of school re-openings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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9:25 p.m. PT

Former Green party interim leader Adam Olsen has been re-elected to his seat of Saanich North and the Islands.

Olsen was one of three Greens elected in the 2017 election.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth, who was first elected in 1991, held on to his seat of Port Coquitlam.

Former NDP MP Fin Donnelly also won in the riding of Coquitlam-Burke Mountain.

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9:15 p.m. PT

The New Democrats have won British Columbia’s provincial election, with voters giving the NDP a second term.

NDP Leader John Horgan faced criticism from opposition politicians for calling an election during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Horgan and several of his cabinet ministers, including Environment Minister George Heyman Health Minister Adrian Dix, have been re-elected. 

Mail-in ballots will still need to be counted for the final vote tally, with Elections BC estimating it will take two weeks to do so.

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9:05 p.m. PT

The leaders of two of British Columbia’s main provincial parties have retained their seats as results roll in for the B.C. election.

New Democrat Leader John Horgan held his seat of Langford-Juan de Fuca on Vancouver Island while Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson was re-elected in Vancouver-Quilchena.

B.C.’s NDP Environment Minister George Heyman has also been elected in his riding of Vancouver-Fairview. 

Mike de Jong, the former Liberal finance minister has also been re-elected in his riding of Abbotsford West. 

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8:50 p.m. PT

Health Minister Adrian Dix has won his riding of Vancouver-Kingsway in the B.C. election.

Early results show the New Democrats beating the Liberals.

The NDP has just over 45 per cent of the popular vote, compared with 34.6 for the Liberals and the Greens have 15.9 per cent. 

A party needs 44 seats to form a majority government in B.C.

8:28 p.m. PT

If the student vote is any indication, New Democrat Leader John Horgan would have a majority government with 59 of the 87 seats.

More than 85,000 students at about 700 elementary, middle and high schools took part in the 2020 B.C. student vote program, casing ballots in the electoral districts of their own school.

The students also voted in 16 members of British Columbia’s Greens, making Sonia Furstenau the official opposition leader after the Liberals won 12 seats.

The students also voted in Conservative Party of B.C. Leader Trevor Bolin in his seat in Peace River North and Rod Taylor of the Christian Heritage Party in Stikine.

The program was held in partnership with Elections BC.

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8 p.m. PT

The polls have closed in a British Columbia election that has largely been defined by the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Democrat Leader John Horgan called the election Sept. 21, one year ahead of the scheduled date.

The B.C. Liberals and the Greens criticized the decision to hold an election during the pandemic, arguing it was a bid for power when the focus should be on public health and the economy.  

Due to the number of mail-in ballots, Elections BC says the winning party may not be known for two weeks when the mailed ballots are counted. 

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7:01 p.m. PT

Elections BC says nearly half a million mail-in ballots have been returned as people tried to avoid going to the polls to vote in B.C.’s election during the pandemic. 

It says 724,279 vote-by-mail packages were requested, with nearly 498,000 returned as of Friday night.

Voters had until the polls close today to return the mail-in ballots.

There are nearly 3.5 million registered voters in British Columbia.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2020. 

The Canadian Press