The polls have now closed in the 43rd British Columbia provincial general election, bringing an end to a four-week campaign period that saw a record number of ballots cast in advance.
Barring an extremely tight result, B.C. residents should know within hours whether the B.C. NDP has secured another four-year mandate or the B.C. Conservatives have completed their astonishing rise from political obscurity to form the province’s first Conservative government in nearly a century.
CTV News Vancouver is airing a live, commercial-free election special on TV and here on CTVNewsVancouver.ca as the results come in.
Elections BC anticipates that the use of electronic tabulators this year will lead to faster reporting of results.
More than a million British Columbians – roughly 28 per cent of registered voters – cast their ballots in advance polls.
Those who waited until election day to vote were met by heavy rain in many parts of the province, with Metro Vancouver residents braving major flooding in some areas.
Environment and Climate Change Canada issued wind and rain warnings for most of Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the south and central coasts on Friday, as an atmospheric river made its way to shore.
On Saturday, the weather agency upgraded its rainfall estimates to predict more than 100 millimetres across most of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.
The B.C. River Forecast Centre also issued flood watches for the island and most of the coast in response to the storm. A flood watch means that “river levels are rising and will approach or may exceed bankfull. Flooding of areas adjacent to affected rivers may occur,” according to the centre.