No clear winner in B.C. election race between NDP, Conservatives

With the race for power in British Columbia still virtually tied, the competing leaders of the province's top political parties called on their supporters late Saturday to be patient as officials counted the crucial final votes.

The B.C. NDP and B.C. Conservatives are locked in a near dead heat with the vast majority of polls counted. The NDP were either elected or leading in 46 ridings as of 11:30 p.m. PT, while the Conservatives had won or were leading in 45 — meaning the race will come down to the final polls, the results of which haven't been released yet.

Elections B.C. has said it is completing due diligence before the last count is released.

To win a majority government in B.C., a party has to take at least 47 of the 93 seats.

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Regardless of which party ultimately forms government, the razor-thin margin will be considered a disappointing result for the NDP and an accomplishment for the up-and-coming Conservatives.

"This has been a very, very hard fought campaign and we knew that every vote would matter and that has certainly been the case," NDP Leader David Eby told supporters just before 11:30 p.m. PT. "And it looks like we're going to have to wait just a little bit longer."

Addressing his own crowd minutes earlier, Conservatives Leader John Rustad the election was a "historic night."

"This has been a night where we have seen the political landscape in British Columbia change forever … we have not given up this fight yet. We are going to keep pushing hard."

A number of ridings are still too close to call with less than a few hundred votes between candidates.

Both Eby and Rustad held onto their ridings: Rustad was re-elected in Nechako Lakes, which he has held since 2005, and Eby won a fourth term in Vancouver–Point Grey.

In a major blow to her party, B.C. Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau lost her seat after leaving her riding of Cowichan Valley to run for the first time in Victoria–Beacon Hill.

"It has been such an honour to be an MLA," an emotional Furstenau later told supporters gathered in the capital, her voice hoarse after fighting a cold last weekend. "It's not the outcome we hoped for in Victoria–Beacon Hill tonight, but I'm so proud of the campaign that we ran."

The Greens otherwise led in two ridings.

Of the record 40 Independents who ran across the province, none are leading in any of their races.

The majority of NDP cabinet ministers retained their seats, including Health Minister Adrian Dix in Vancouver–Renfrew, Jobs Minister Brenda Bailey in Vancouver–South Granville and Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon in Delta North.

Voting results were available quicker than usual because Elections B.C. is using a new electronic voting system to count ballots, though the process wasn't seamless: results were delayed in Surrey–Cloverdale, one of the province's closest battleground ridings, because of an issue with a password needed to tabulate votes.

Remarkable Conservative rise

The campaign was largely a story about whether or not the B.C. Conservatives could complete a stunning political rise to topple Eby's B.C. NDP, or whether the incumbent party could hold onto its commanding power in the Legislature.

At dissolution this fall, the NDP held a powerful majority with 55 seats in the legislature. The B.C. United party served as the Official Opposition with 20 seats, but did not run any candidates in the election after it suspended its campaign to throw its support behind the surging B.C. Conservatives — who held just eight seats before the election.

The Greens had two seats, and two seats were held by Independents.

If voters elect Rustad's party, the province will have its first Conservative government in nearly a century. If voters stick to the status quo and back Eby's party, the province will have its fourth consecutive NDP government.

Regardless of the final outcome, Rustad's unlikely rise has been a remarkable story in B.C. politics.

Rustad, 61, became party leader after he was kicked out of the Opposition, then known as the B.C. Liberals, over his views on climate change. In just two years, he steered the fledgling Conservatives to a level of popularity that sank his old party, which had disastrously rebranded as B.C. United.

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The Conservatives and NDP ran candidates in each of the province's 93 ridings, while Furstenau's Greens had 69 candidates. Six high-profile incumbent MLAs were among the 40 Independent candidates.

Reflecting a change in politics that extends far beyond the province, the election this fall saw a campaign riddled with harmful rhetoric and personal attacks against candidates on both sides.

More than a million people voted ahead of election day, marking a record number for advance voting in the province.

More to come.