B.C. election live blog: Track the results here

We’ll be live all night as the B.C. election comes down to the final tallies. Watch this space for results, news and social media reaction as the province decides who will run the B.C. government for the next four years.

TIGHT RACE, CLOSE RIDINGS

The Liberals and the NDP remain locked in a tight race with a handful of ridings in the province’s 87-seat legislature still to be determined.

Forty-two Liberals were elected to the legislature compared with 41 New Democrats, with the NDP gaining ground in the seat-rich Lower Mainland where it had focused its campaign.

In her speech at the Liberal headquarters, Liberal Leader Christy Clark called the result, which is looking more and more like a minority Liberal government, “exciting” and “different.”

Clark said she was confident absentee ballots — which were still to be counted — would strengthen her party’s margin of victory, but said she was prepared to work with the NDP and Green party.

“It is my intention to continue to lead British Columbia’s government,” said Clark. “Voters reminded us tonight that we are far from perfect … our job is to lead but it’s also our job to remember who we serve.”

Neither Clark nor NDP Leader John Horgan conceded defeat in their post-election speeches.

“A majority of British Columbians voted for a different government and that’s what they deserve,” Horgan told party faithful at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

The Greens achieved a historic breakthrough by electing three members to the legislature, including Leader Andrew Weaver, who kept his seat in Oak Bay-Gordon Head.

Green Leader Andrew Weaver sa

The chance of the Green party holding the balance of power in a minority government situation is a possibility. The last time there was a minority government in the province was 1952.

WE HAVE SOME WINNERS

Mitzi Dean — executive director of the Pacific Centre Family Services Association — has retained the NDP seat long held by Maurine Karagianis, who chose not to run for re-election.

er attorney general and justice minister Suzanne Anton lost her seat in one of the night’s key upsets, beaten by NDP challenger George Chow by a 1,000-vote margin in Vancouver-Fraserview. Chow was a Vision Vancouver councillor for two terms.

Liberal cabinet minister Michelle Stilwell has been re-elected in Parksville-Qualicum. The paralympic wheelchair racer serves as , Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation. 

NDP candidate Jagrup Brar proved to be a giant killer in Surrey-Fleetwood as he defeated Peter Fassbender. Brar has previously served as MLA in Surrey-Panorama Ridge and Surrey-Fleetwood. Fassbender had been one of Liberal Leader Christy Clark’s top cabinet ministers, most recently holding the portfolios of community development and TransLink.

Liberal John Martin has been elected to a second term in Chilliwack. The former criminal justice instructor at Douglas College fired one of his assistants in March after tens of thousands of dollars in public funds have gone missing from his constituency office.

Two-time Olympic field hockey player Ravi Kahlon is the new MLA for Delta North, taking back the seat for the NDP. The 37-year-old dad and NDP caucus worker defeated Liberal incumbent Scott Hamilton.

Liberal House Leader Linda Reid has retained the Richmond South Centre riding she has held since 1991. She is B.C.’s longest-serving active MLA.

In Nanaimo-North Cowichan, NDP warhorse Doug Routley has been re-elected for his fourth consecutive term. 

Dan Ashton has kept the Penticton seat he won for the Liberals in 2013, taking about half the vote over NDP and Green contenders. He has pledged to build an expansion to the regional hospital in the riding as well as more affordable housing.

The NDP stronghold of New Westminster stayed orange as Judy Darcy won re-election. Darcy, a former head of CUPE, the biggest union in Canada, served as health critic.

Liberal Stephanie Cadieux, children and family development minister, former Paralympian, has been re-elected in Surrey South.

NDP MLA Michelle Mungall has been re-elected for a third term in Nelson Creston. A strong showing by Green candidate Kim Charlesworth created a tighter race than usual in the traditional NDP bastion.

NDP MLA George Heyman has been re-elected in Vancouver-Fairview, easily surviving a challenge from Liberal Gabe Garfinkel, a former aide to Christy Clark. Heyman is the former executive director of Sierra Club B.C.

David Eby — the prominent human rights lawyer who beat Liberal Leader Christy Clark in Vancouver-Point Grey in the last election and became a leading voice for the NDP opposition — has retained his seat.

Two-term Liberal incumbent Jane Thornthwaite has been re-elected in Vancouver-Seymour, a riding in which both the NDP and Green gained ground from the 2013 result.

Liberal Mike Morris has been re-elected in Prince George-Mackenzie. The former Mountie has served as Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General since 2015.

NDP MLA Mable Elmore has won a third term in the Vancouver-Kensington riding. She was the first elected MLA of Filipino heritage when she won the riding in 2009 and has worked on immigration, social justice and workers’ rights issues.

The Conroy NDP dynasty lives on Kootenay West with the re-election of Katrine Conroy. Conroy has served the riding since 2005. Her husband Ed had represented the riding from 1991-2001. 

Linda Larson has been re-elected in the Okanagan riding of Boundary-Similkameen. The small-business owner served as mayor of Oliver from 1997 to 2005.

Outspoken and popular NDP MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert has been re-elected in Vancouver-West End in a landslide, easily outdistancing challenges from the Liberal Nigel Elliott and Green candidate James Marshall.

NDP MLA Rob Fleming kept his seat in Victoria-Swan Lake. The former UVic student union president and Victoria city councillor held off a challenge in a riding the Greens had targeted in its attempt at an Island breakthrough.

Three-term MLA Shane Simpson has been re-elected in the NDP stronghold of Vancouver-Hastings. Between Simpson and predecessor Joy McPhail, the NDP has never lost in Vancouver-Hastings.

NDP stalwart Mike Farnworth was declared the winner by Canadian Press by a wide margin over Liberal Susan Chambers to re-take Port Coquitlam. Farnworth has served as MLA since 1991. 

B.C. Liberal Leader Christy Clark has handily won the Kelowna West riding, but her party’s hold on power is far from assured with a near dead heat with the NDP across B.C.

Laurie Throness has been re-elected MLA for Chilliwack-Hope. Throness has served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General for Corrections,

Liberal Eric Foster has won his third term in Vernon-Monashee. The former mayor of Lumby served most recently as Government Whip and a member of the Environment and Land Use Committee.

Teresa Wat has won the seat in the newly created riding of Richmond North Centre. The Hong Kong native who immigrated to Canada in 1989 has served as minister of international trade and minister responsible for Asia-Pacific strategy and multiculturalism.

Liberal MLA and education minister Mike Bernier breezed to victory in Peace River South. Before being elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2013, Bernier served as mayor of Dawson Creek.

NDP Leader John Horgan has easily won his riding of Langford-Juan de Fuca. First elected in 2005, Horgan was acclaimed as NDP Leader in 2014.

Ralph Sultan, who was first elected in West Vancouver-Capilano in 2001, has retained his North Shore seat. His lengthy resumé as an economist, including a doctorate from Harvard, has been used in a number of cabinet roles and committees over the years.

Liberal John Yap has won a fourth straight term in the riding of Richmond-Steveston. He has served on several cabinet committees tackling issues such as liquor policy reform and red tape reduction.

Liberal Donna Barnett has been re-elected in Cariboo-Chilcotin. Barnett served as mayor of the District of 100 Mile House from 1986 to 1990 and again from 1996 to 2008.

A city councillor for Fort St. John since 2005, Dan Davies has won in the Liberal stronghold of Peace River North. at Pimm was elected in the riding in 2013, but stepped down last year after being charged with assault. That charge has since been stayed but he didn’t run for re-election.

Liberal cabinet stalwart Mike de Jong has been re-elected in Abbotsford West. De Jong has represented Abbotsford for more than 20 years and was most recently Christy Clark’s minister of finance and government house leader.

Former Cranbrook city councillor and financial adviser Tom Shypitka has won Kootenay East for the Liberals.

Liberal Jordan Sturdy has been re-elected in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky as the Green and NDP split the left vote in the affluent riding. Prior to being elected, Jordan served as Mayor of Pemberton for three term

Scott Fraser of the NDP has been re-elected for a fourth straight term, winning the new riding of Mid Island-Pacific Rim. He’s a former mayor of Tofino who now lives in Nanaimo. Mid Island-Pacific Rim was formed during a 2015 electoral district redistribution from parts of Alberni-Pacific Rim and Comox Valley.

B.C. Liberal Greg Kyllo has been re-elected in Shuswap. Kyllo, who has served one term, is president of a ship building company based in Sicamous.

Longtime Liberal MLA Shirley Bond has been re-elected in Prince George-Valemont. Bond, the Liberal government’s Minister of Jobs, Tourism, and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour, was first elected in 2001.

Kamloops mayor Peter Milobar has won Kamloops-North Thompson for the Liberals. He succeeds Liberal MLA and health minister Terry Lake, who chose not to run for re-election.

Delta city councillor Ian Paton has won the Delta South seat for the Liberal party. Paton got some press on Monday when he posted a Twitter picture with Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander, who was location scouting for a TV show on Paton’s farm.

Veteran MLA Harry Bains has easily retained the riding of Surrey-Newton, where he has held the seat for the NDP since 2005.

Bruce Ralston of the NDP has been re-elected in Surrey-Whalley. The Surrey lawyer, who has served in the legislature since 2005, has spoken out against gun violence in his riding.

Tracy Redies has taken the seat for the Liberals, in a riding that was affected by Christy Clark’s proposed ban on thermal coal shipments — which pass along the community’s coastal track.

Liberal incumbent Darryl Plecas kept his seat in Abbotsford South, where he was first elected in 2013 by topping B.C. Liberal defector John van Dongen.

NDP incumbent Melanie Mark has been re-elected in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant. Mark gained her seat in a 2016 by-election — after longtime NDP MLA Jenny Kwan stepped aside to run federally.

Liberal Steve Thomson has been re-elected in Kelowna-Mission. Thomson was first elected in 2009.

NDP incumbent and longtime MLA Nicholas Simons retains his seat on Powell River-Sunshine Coast.

Norm Letnick, the Minister of Agriculture, has retained his seat. The Canadian Press has called Letnick the winner in Kelowna-Lake Country with 26 polls reporting.

Another Liberal cabinet minister, Andrew Wilkinson, has been declared the winner in Vancouver-Quilchena with 12 polls reporting.

Former NDP leader Adrian Dix commanded 60 per cent of the vote in Vancouver-Kingsway. He has held the seat since 2005.

LIBERALS UP SLIGHTLY AT 9 P.M.

With polls closed for an hour, the B.C. Liberals are trending toward a minority government, with 42 seats in which they are leading or elected.

The NDP had 39 seats and the Greens one.

However, Elections B.C. still reports 10 constituencies in which no votes have been tallied, so it’s early going yet.

DON’T SPLIT THE TELL ME HOW TO VOTE

While voting booths were open, social media was awash with NDP supporters — and even a few purported Green party members — urging people not to vote Green and “split the vote,” thus allowing the Liberals to slip up the middle.

While the strategic message might be sound, you have to wonder if there was backlash by offended voters who were leaning Green — and didn’t appreciate being told what to do.

STUDENT VOTE IS NDP LANDSLIDE

The Student Vote campaign sent out a press release right at 8 p.m. heralding a major NDP victory. 

Good thing we opened the email first before tweeting it, Dewey-style:

HERE’S A QUICK LOOK AT SOME OF THE NUMBERS
BEHIND THIS YEAR’S B.C. GENERAL ELECTION

General

• 87 seats make up B.C.’s legislature
• 44 seats are needed to make a majority
• $77,674.62 is the expenses limit for candidates
• $4.8 million is the expenses limit per political party

Voter turnout

• 1,813,912 votes cast in 2013 (57 per cent turnout)
• 3,176,455 registered voters in 2013
• 3,156,991 registered voters as of April 11, 2017

Liberals

• 47 seats held at dissolution of legislature
• 87 candidates running

NDP

• 35 seats held at dissolution of legislature
• 87 candidates running

Greens

• 1 seat held at dissolution of legislature
• 83 candidates running

WONDER WHO THEY VOTED FOR?

Liberal Leader Christy Clark and Green Leader Andrew Weaver both voted today. Weaver cast his ballot in his home riding of Oak Bay-Gordon Head on Vancouver Island, while Clark, whose home riding is in Kelowna West, actually voted in Vancouver’s Dunbar area, where she has a residence.

Polls opened at 8 a.m. and Green Leader Andrew Weaver was among the first in line at a middle school in his Victoria-area constituency of Oak Bay-Gordon Head. 

“It was a lot of kids excited to see us come and vote there. And that’s what it’s about. It’s about making decisions that are not only for this generation, but also for the next,” Weaver told Canadian Press..

B.C. Green party leader Andrew Weaver arrives with his family to vote on election day at Gordon Head Middle School in Victoria on Tuesday.

Clark voted at a community centre in Vancouver, where poll workers had to intervene after a man approached her yelling insults. Speaking at a campaign office in her riding, Clark told the Canadian Press she’s confident the Liberals have done everything they could to reach voters over the past four weeks of campaigning.

B.C. Liberal leader Christy Clark takes a selfie at a polling station after casting her ballot in Vancouver on Tuesday.

NDP Leader John Horgan voted more than a week ago in his riding of Juan de Fuca on Vancouver Island when advanced polls first opened on April 29. He spent election day Tuesday in Coquitlam taking NDP supporters to a polling station and making friends with small dogs.

B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan stops to pet a dog while bringing voters to a polling station in Coquitlam.

FIRST AT THE PARTY

MUCH IS AT STAKE

TOMORROW, REPORTERS DIET

In our office, there’s pizza. That’s health food compared to this spread.

SOME GOOD FOLLOWS

Rob Shaw rounds up some of our reporters who will be providing info from the field tonight. (You should probably follow Rob Shaw too.)

VIEW FROM ABROAD

As per tradition, local media hasn’t printed any polls or predictions on election day, but the New York Times ran a synopsis of the race that covers everything from pipelines to Trump’s influence.

IF YOU’RE SCORING AT HOME …

Innovative Research, a Canadian research and consultation, has created a scorecard of sorts for B.C. Election 2017. As the results roll in, you can check off their key riding cheat sheet:

(Click on chart to enlarge) 

LIVE FROM OUR NEWSROOM …

Columnists Gord Clark and columnist Daphne Bramham discuss B.C. election 2017 on Facebook Live.

Related

• Full B.C. Election 2017 Coverage

With Canadian Press files