The BC Liberals have won a majority government, defying poll predictions of an NDP win.
As of 11:20 p.m. PT, the Liberals were leading or elected in 50 ridings. The NDP were leading or elected in 33 ridings.
Forty-three ridings are needed for the winner to clinch a majority.
During the election campaign, polls suggested that the NDP would oust the Liberals under Adrian Dix’s leadership.
Observers said Dix ran a strong, populist campaign, promising change after missteps by the Liberal government – but that wasn’t enough.
“Well, that was easy,” Premier Christy Clark quipped as she took the stage Tuesday night to deliver her victory speech.
But even as she was celebrating her party’s win, Clark was in danger of losing her own seat to NDP challenger David Eby in Vancouver-Point Grey.
Still, a beaming Clark told her supporters that she would work for all British Columbians and deliver on her promises to strengthen the province’s economy.
“You have humbled us with this opportunity and the tremendous obligation you have placed on our shoulders,” she said.
“Together, we will make British Columbia better.”
Dix, who was easily re-elected in his riding, called Clark earlier in the evening to congratulate her.
“Never a dull moment in B.C. politics,” Dix told a crowd of supporters after the Liberal victory was declared.
“I am very proud of the campaign you New Democrat candidates and volunteers ran across British Columbia,” Dix said.
“Tonight we are disappointed, but we are unbowed.”
Dix said he’s also disappointed that the NDP hasn’t “managed to address issues of participation in our democracy.”
“I haven’t given up trying,” he added.
Although Dix warned that there would be no “safe” seats for B.C. Liberals earlier Tuesday, Clark maintained her confidence.
Clark has had to deal with the unpopular harmonized sales tax she inherited from her predecessor, Gordon Campbell, which has since been repealed. She faced criticism over a surprise deficit and a $6-million bill for the defence of two former Liberal aides convicted of breach of trust linked to the controversial sale of Crown-owned BC Rail.
In March, a growing scandal over the Liberals’ leaked plan to woo ethnic voters prompted an apology from Clark as some members of her own party called for her resignation.
The ethnic vote strategy suggested, among other things, that apologizing for historical racial wrongs was for “quick wins” at the polls.
Clark’s chief of staff and closest advisor, Kim Haakdstad, resigned over the document, which was leaked by the NDP.
Still, the Liberals managed to focus their campaign on the economy and jobs, and also frequently mentioned a 15-year-old scandal that has haunted Dix: he lost his job as chief of staff to then-premier Glen Clark when he backdated a memo to try to exonerate Clark in a casino-licensing scandal.
Canada’s first Green MLA was also elected Tuesday night. Andrew Weaver defeated Liberal cabinet minister Ida Chong in Oak Bay-Gordon Head.
With files from The Canadian Press
