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

A tight race for political power in British Columbia still had no clear winner early Sunday after the vast majority of votes in the provincial election had been counted, with a weakened incumbent party barely holding offits top challenger late into the night.

With a little more than 96 per cent of votes counted, theB.C. NDPand B.C. Conservatives were leftlocked in a near dead heat.

The NDPwere either elected or leading in 46ridings, while the Conservativeshad won or were leading in 45 each just a seat or two shy of the 47 needed to win a majority government.

The razor-thin result means the race will come down to the finalpolls, out-of-district votes and mail in ballots. The latter aren't expected to be fully counted until Oct. 26.

• See a riding-by-riding breakdown ofthe results here

The delay in announcing the results came after an unusually antagonistic election campaign characterized by the growing popularity of the right-of-centre Conservatives, whichhad tried to convince a broad base of disillusioned voters to reject the status quo after seven years of NDP rule.

Regardless of which party ultimately forms government, the close race will be considered a disappointing result for the once-dominant NDP and a once-unthinkable accomplishmentfor 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 DavidEby 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."

WATCH | Eby asks supporters for patience after tight race:

B.C. NDP Leader David Eby addresses supporters after party loses several seats

3 days ago

Duration 8:11

Eby gave a speech for supporters after what was a disappointing night for his party.

Addressing hisown crowdminutes earlier, Conservatives Leader John Rustadsaid the election wasa "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: Rustadwas re-electedin Nechako Lakes, which he has held since 2005, and Eby won a fourth term in VancouverPoint Grey.

WATCH | Rustad celebrates Conservative gains on close election night:

John Rustad hails 'historic night' for B.C. Conservatives

3 days ago

Duration 10:21

The winner of the B.C. election remained unclear late Saturday, but B.C. Conservatives Leader John Rustad said it was a great night for his party.

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

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

The Greens otherwise led in two ridings.With the two top parties each straining to clinch a majority, Furstenau saidthe party could potentially play a "pivotal role" in the next government.

WATCH | Furstenau thanks supporters, family after election loss:

Greens will still play 'pivotal role,' leader Sonia Furstenau says despite losing seat

3 days ago

Duration 6:26

B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau addresses supporters after failing to win the Victoria-Beacon Hill riding in the provincial election.

B.C. was left with similar uncertainty after the provincial election in 2017, when election night ended with another too-close-to-call race between the NDP and then-B.C. Liberals.

Former Liberals leader Christy Clark promised to lead a minority government after the race, but resigned weeks later after losing a confidence vote. The NDP's John Horgan became premier after signing a confidence and supply agreement with the support of the three Green members of the Legislature.

Together, the two parties had a total of 44 seats the minimum required at that time for a majority.

Remarkable Conservative rise

The campaign was largely a story about whether or not the Conservatives could complete astunning political rise totoppleEby'sNDP, or whether the incumbent partycouldhold ontoitscommanding 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. A record 40 Independents ran in the election this year, but none of them won any of their races.

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

If Rustad's party takes power, the province will have its first Conservative government in nearly a century. If Eby's party wins, the province will have its third 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 leaderafter he waskicked out of the Opposition, then known as the B.C. Liberals, over his views on climate change. In just two years, hesteered the fledgling Conservatives to a level of popularity that sankhis old party, which had disastrously rebrandedas B.C. United.

The Conservatives and NDPrancandidates in each of the province's 93 ridings, while Furstenau's Greens had69 candidates. Six high-profile incumbent MLAs were among the 40 Independent candidates.

Voting resultswere available quicker than usualbecause Elections B.C. is usinga new electronic voting system to count ballots, though the process wasn't seamless: results were delayed inSurreyCloverdale, one of the province's closest battleground ridings, because of anissue with a password neededto tabulate votes.

More than a million people voted ahead of a rainy election day, markinga record number for advance voting in the province.Automatic recounts will happen in electoral districts where thetop two candidates are separated by 100 votes or less, with recounts scheduled for Oct.26, 27 and28.