Voters faced a choice for the next government that would have seemed unthinkable just a few months ago, between the incumbent NDP and John Rustad’s Conservatives
VANCOUVER — Predictions of a nail-biting election were holding true in British Columbia on Saturday, with early returns showing the New Democrats and the B.C. Conservatives locked in a tight battle.
With the two main parties each straining to reach a majority, Green Leader Sonia Furstenau said her party was poised to play a “pivotal role” in the legislature.
The Greens will retain two seats, with Rob Botterell victorious in Saanich North and the Islands and Jeremy Valeriote won in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky.
Furstenau lost to the NDP’s Grace Lore after switching ridings to Victoria-Beacon Hill.
“We knew we were up against the steep hill. We were trying something bold and new,” she told supporters in Victoria.
Both NDP Leader David Eby and Conservative Leader John Rustad retained their ridings.
Aisha Estey, president of the B.C. Conservatives, says she expected a tight race for government, but was optimistic her party would pull ahead of the NDP.
She says the mood in Conservative headquarters is “on a knife’s edge,” swinging between optimism and nervous excitement as results _ which remain too close to call — roll in.
Estey says the election has “been the ultimate underdog story” for the party.
She says she’s really proud of her team and the momentum they gained throughout what she calls a “historic campaign,” adding that even becoming official opposition is also a “huge accomplishment.”
“Whether it’s government tonight or official opposition, we’re not going anywhere. There’s Conservative Party in B.C. now finally,” she said. “We’re back.”
It was a rain-drenched election day in much of the province.
Voters braved high winds and torrential downpours brought by an atmospheric river weather system that forced closures of several polling stations due to power outages.
Residents faced a choice for the next government that would have seemed unthinkable just a few months ago, between the incumbent New Democrats led by Eby and Rustad’s B.C. Conservatives, who received less than two per cent of the vote last election.
A wave of B.C. Conservatives are set to enter the legislature, giving the party its first elected presence in decades.
They include Brent Chapman in Surrey South, who had been heavily criticized during the campaign for an old social media post that called Palestinian children “inbred” and “time bombs.”
Results came in quickly, as promised by Elections BC, with electronic vote tabulation being used provincewide for the first time.
The election authority expected the count would be “substantially complete” by 9 p.m., one hour after the close of polls. But by 9:30 p.m. at least 15 ridings were too close to call.
Six new seats have been added since the last provincial election, and to win a majority, a party must secure 47 seats in the 93-seat legislature.
There had already been a big turnout before election day on Saturday, with more than a million advance votes cast, representing more than 28 per cent of valid voters and smashing the previous record for early polling.
The wild weather on election day was appropriate for such a tumultuous campaign.
Once considered a fringe player in provincial politics, the B.C. Conservatives stand on the brink of forming government or becoming the official Opposition.
Rustad’s unlikely rise came after he was thrown out of the Opposition, then known as the BC Liberals, joined the Conservatives as leader, and steered them to a level of popularity that led to the collapse of his old party, now called BC United — all in just two years.
Rustad shared a photo on social media Saturday showing himself smiling and walking with his wife at a voting station, with a message saying, “This is the first time Kim and I have voted for the Conservative Party of BC!”
Eby, who voted earlier in the week, posted a message on social media Saturday telling voters to “grab an umbrella and stay safe.”
Two voting sites in Cariboo-Chilcotin in the B.C. Interior and one in Maple Ridge in the Lower Mainland were closed due to power cuts, Elections BC said, while several sites in Kamloops, Langley and Port Moody, as well as on Hornby, Denman and Mayne islands, were temporarily shut but reopened by mid-afternoon.
Some former BC United MLAs running as Independents were defeated, with Karin Kirkpatrick, Dan Davies, Coralee Oakes and Tom Shypitka all losing to Conservatives.
Kirkpatrick had said in a statement before the results came in that her campaign had been in touch with Elections BC about the risk of weather-related disruptions, and was told that voting tabulation machines have battery power for four hours in the event of an outage.
— With additional reporting from Brenna Owen
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