The BC Liberals have secured a majority government.
In a shocking upset, the Liberals have come back to win British Columbia’s election, a stunning turnaround for a party and a premier who had once been declared by one opinion survey as among the two worst in the country.
The Liberals even stole a few seats from the NDP in areas they were never expected to win.
The Liberals won 50 seats, the NDP won 33, and the Greens and an Independent won 1 each.
It was about 11 p.m. when Clark spoke to her supporters and started her speech with “well that was easy!”
She thanked the volunteers and the citizens of British Columbia who took the time to go to the polls on Tuesday. “Every democratic process requires all kinds of people,” she said.
“I say to the citizens of British Columbia you have humbled us tonight with this opportunity and the tremendous responsibility you have placed on our shoulders.”
“Together we will make British Columbia better.”
While Clark will be returning as premier, she did not win her seat in Vancouver-Point Grey. NDP candidate David Eby clinched the victory by just a few hundred votes.
WATCH: Christy Clark’s acceptance speech.
NDP leader Adrian Dix may not be the new premier, but he will be returning to the BC legislature, as he easily won his riding of Vancouver-Kingsway.
Dix addressed the crowd at NDP headquarters at 10:20 p.m. and said he had already called Christy Clark and congratulated her on her election campaign. “”We have elected a very strong team that will hold the government accountable,” he said.
He added his party’s determination to bring change to B.C. will continue. “I’m proud of how we worked together,” he added. “We’ve got to continue to be who we are, generous and forward-looking.”
WATCH: Adrian Dix’s concession speech.
The BC Conservatives did not win one seat in this election. Leader John Cummins said by 2017 they will be a much stronger party.
The Green Party of B.C. has made history with the election of Andrew Weaver in Oak Bay-Gordon Head.
Independent candidate in Delta South, Vicki Huntington, was the only Independent to win a seat.
But the Liberal win surprised many.
“I thought the mood in the province was time for a change and I guess it wasn’t,” said Vancouver Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer.
Doug McArthur, professor of public policy at SFU, said for the Liberals, it all came down to the campaign. “The lesson learned is that this was won in the campaign,” McArthur said. “It was a focussed campaign, they knew what they wanted to do, it was hard hitting, it was tough, but they drove the message to undermine Adrian Dix and the NDP.”
WATCH: Global calls it for the Liberals.
For a full list of results go to our map of B.C.
12:17 a.m. – David Eby has won the riding of Vancouver-Point Grey for the NDP. Christy Clark has lost her seat in the Legislature.
Watch: Eby a cautious winner
11:40 p.m. – Liberal Steve Kim has been elected in Coquitlam-Maillardville in what was a very tight race between the Liberals and the NDP
11:37 p.m. – NDP’s Gary Holman has been elected in Saanich North and the Islands in what was a very tight three-way race.
11:21 p.m. – NDP’s George Heyman has been elected in Vancouver-Fairview.
11:15 p.m. – NDP’s Jane Shin has been elected in Burnaby-Lougheed.
11:01 p.m. – Maple Ridge-Mission goes to the Liberals with Marc Dalton winning his seat.
10:37 p.m. – Liberal Suzanne Anton elected in Vancouver-Fraserview.
10:35 p.m. – Peter Fassbender wins Surrey-Fleetwood for the Liberals.
10:20 p.m. – Port Moody-Coquitlam switches to the Liberals from the NDP.
10:17 p.m. – Burnaby North stays Liberal with re-election of Richard Lee.
10:14 p.m. – West Vancouver-Sea to Sky stays Liberal with election of Jordan Sturdy.
10:10 p.m. – Burnaby-Deer Lake re-elects NDP incumbent Kathy Corrigan.
10:08 p.m. – NDP incumbent Bill Routley re-elected in Cowichan Valley.
10:04 p.m. – Delta North switches from NDP to Liberal with election of Scott Hamilton.
10:01 p.m. – Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows elects Liberal Doug Bing.
9:59 p.m. – Incumbent Liberal MLA Don McRae re-elected in Comox Valley on Vancouver Island.
9:57 p.m. – Penticton stays Liberal with election of Dan Ashton.
9:56 p.m. – Liberal Coralee Oakes elected in Cariboo North and Columbia River-Revelstoke stays NDP with re-election of Norm Macdonald.
9:55 p.m. – History made with first ever Green MLA in the BC Legislature. Green Party’s Andrew Weaver elected in Oak Bay-Gordon Head.
WATCH: Historic win for the Green Party.
9:52 p.m. – Coquitlam-Burke Mountain stays Liberal with re-election of Douglas Horne.
9:50 p.m. – Kamloops-North Thompson stays Liberal with re-election of Terry Lake, New Westminster stays NDP territory with election of Judy Darcy, Longtime NDP MLA Leonard Krog re-elected in Nanaimo, and NDP MLA Raj Chouhan re-elected in Burnaby-Edmonds.
9:45 p.m. – North Vancouver-Seymour stays Liberal with re-election of Jane Thornthwaite, Former NDP leader Carole James re-elected in Victoria-Beacon Hill, and Liberal Naomi Yamamoto re-elected in North Vancouver-Lonsdale.
9:42 p.m. – Kelowna-Mission stays Liberal with re-election of Steve Thomson, and Peace River North stays Liberal with re-election of Pat Pimm.
9:38 p.m. – Saanich South stays NDP with re-election of Lana Popham, NDP MLA Doug Routley re-elected in Nanaimo-North Cowichan, and Boundary-Similkameen stays Liberal with election of Linda Larson.
9:35 p.m. – Fraser-Nicola elects BC Liberal Jackie Tegart, Parksville-Qualicum stays Liberal with election of Michelle Stilwell, and NDP MLA Claire Trevena re-elected on North Island.
9:30 p.m. – Liberal Mike de Jong re-elected in Abbotsford West.
9:29 p.m. – Liberal Moira Stilwell re-elected in Vancouver-Langara.
9:28 p.m. – Liberal, and former Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan elected in Vancouver-False Creek.
9:27 p.m. – Surrey-Panorama stays Liberal with election of Marvin Hunt and Liberal Shirley Bond keeps seat in Prince George-Valemont.
9:23 p.m. – Liberal Shirley Bond re-elected in Prince George-Valemount.
9:22 p.m. – Incumbent Liberal MLA John Rustad re-elected in Nechako Lakes.
9:20 p.m. – Liberal Darryl Plecas elected in Abbotsford-South
9:17 p.m. – Prince George-Mackenzie elects Liberal Mike Morris.
9:16 p.m. – Chilliwack-Hope elects Liberal candidate Laurie Throness.
9:14 p.m. – NDP MLA Spencer Chandra-Herbert easily re-elected in Vancouver-West End and Liberal Eric Foster re-elected in Vernon-Monashee.
9:10 p.m. – NDP re-elected in Surrey-Newton with Harry Bains.
9:09 p.m. – Traditional bellwether riding of Kamloops – South Thompson goes to the BC Liberals’ Todd Stone, and Surrey-Green Timbers re-elects NDP with Sue Hammell.
9:07 p.m. – Liberal candidate Greg Kyllo elected in Shuswap, NDP’s Mike Farnworth re-elected in Port Coquitlam, and NDP’s Michelle Mungall elected in Nelson-Creston.
9:06 p.m. – NDP MLA Maurine Karagianis re-elected in Esquimalt-Royal Roads.
9:03 p.m. – NDP MLA John Horgan re-elected in Juan de Fuca.
9:02 p.m. – Liberal Bill Bennett re-elected in Kootenay-East, and NDP’s Bruce Ralston re-elected in Surrey-Whalley.
8:59 p.m. – Liberal John Martin elected in Chilliwack.
8:54 p.m. – NDP MLA Shane Simpson has been re-elected in Vancouver-Hastings.
8:51 p.m. – Liberal John Yap elected in Richmond-Steveston and NDP MLA Jennifer Rice re-elected in North Coast riding.
8:49 p.m. – Liberal Rich Coleman re-elected in Fort Langley-Aldergrove and
8:48 p.m. – NDP candidate Scott Fraser wins Alberni-Pacific Rim, and Liberal Linda Reid wins Richmond East.
8:46 p.m. – NDP elected in Kootenay West with candidate Katrine Conroy, NDP’s Rob Fleming elected in Victoria-Swan Lake, Liberal Stephanie Cadieux wins riding of Surrey-Cloverdale, BC Conservatives leader John Cummins loses his own riding. Liberal Mary Polak re-elected in Langley.
8:42 p.m. – BC Liberal Gordon Hogg has been elected in Surrey-White Rock.
8:40 p.m. – Adrian Dix elected in Vancouver Kingsway.
WATCH: Global’s “Decision BC” election panel discusses what to take from the early exit polling in tonight’s election.
8:39 p.m. – BC Liberal candidates Norm Letnick, Andrew Wilkinson, and Ralph Sultan have been elected in their ridings.
8:35 p.m. – NDP’s Nicholas Simons has been elected in Powell River-Sunshine Coast. He is the incumbent candidate.
8:31 p.m. – NDP’s Jenny Kwan has been elected for Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant riding. It was expected she would win in a landslide.
WATCH: Jenny Kwan discusses her re-election.
After 28 days of campaigning, numerous speeches, handshakes, and appearances, the candidates have now found out who has been elected and will represent the residents of B.C. for the next four years.
There are 85 ridings in the province, and the parties needed 43 seats to win a majority government. 376 candidates ran in the election.
At dissolution, the Liberals held 45 seats, the NDP had 36 seats and independents held 4 seats.
We have full results and real-time analysis on our Decision BC page.
Please join the conversation on our live blog . If you have a question or a comment,tweet us using the hash tag #DecisionBC.
For a map of the ridings, check out our results page.
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