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LIVE BLOG: Inside party headquarters for B.C.'s 43rd election

The New Democrats, Conservatives and Greens gather to watch who will lead the province

11:40 PM PST

As the night winds down, David Eby took the stage to address his supporters, too: 

11:30 PM PST

Black Press Media has announced the race is too close to call as 97 per cent of the ballot boxes are reported and neither Conservatives or NDP have secured the 47 seats required to form a majority government. 

Full story here: 

11 PM PST

As the race is too close to call, John Rustad took to the stage to address his supporters: 

10:29 PM PST

Adam Olsen, who previously held the seat for Saanich North and the Islands, takes questions from media, specifically around why B.C. Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau chose to switch ridings.

10:14 PM PST

A second B.C. Green candidate has won his riding in the provincial election, potentially giving the party a big role in the legislature.

Jeremy Valeriote won in West Vancouver Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥” Sea to Sky, after colleague Rob Botterell won Saanich North and the Islands, previously held by fellow Green Adam Olsen, who did not run. The Greens also went into the election with two seats in the legislature.

9:32 PM PST

It continues to be a tight race for which party will form the next government in British Columbia. About 90 minutes after the polls closed, the NDP is elected or leading in 46 ridings while the B.C. Conservatives are elected or leading in 45, although the lead has changed several times.

Forming a majority government in B.C. requires 47 of the legislatureÏ㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥™s 93 seats.The B.C. Green Party is elected or leading in two ridings

9:17 PM PST:

Sonia Furstenau gives her concession speech in Victoria. She expressed pride in her campaign. 

9:01 PM PST:

More than half of B.C.Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥™s ridings already have a winner declared, but the race to form government is still too close to call. Early returns show the New Democrats and the Conservatives neck and neck.

8:50 PM PST: 

B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau has to NDP cabinet minister Grace Lore.

Furstenau ran for re-election in Victoria-Beacon Hill after representing the Cowichan Valley riding since 2017.

Lore is the incumbent in the riding, having first been elected in 2020.

8:40 PM PST

British Columbia Premier and NDP Leader David Eby has won re-election in the riding of Vancouver-Point Grey.

Eby was first elected to the riding in 2013, when he defeated then-premier and former B.C. Liberal leader Christy Clark.

He is a former executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association who became premier in 2022 after John Horgan stepped aside.

Eby was challenged in Vancouver-Point Grey by B.C. Conservative candidate Paul Ratchford, who says on a social media profile that he is the owner of a private real estate company.

8:36 PM PST: 

Two NDP ministers have been re-elected in their ridings.

Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon has been re-elected in Delta North and Attorney General Niki Sharma has been elected again in Vancouver-Hastings.

Kahlon is also the NDP house leader and was first elected in 2017.

Sharma is the first woman of colour to serve as B.C's attorney general and was first elected in 2020.

8:20 PM PST: 

British Columbia Conservative Leader John Rustad has been .

Rustad was kicked out of the Opposition BC United Party for his support on social media of an outspoken climate change critic in 2022, and last year was acclaimed as the B.C. Conservative leader.

8:10 PM PST: 

Supporters and candidates of the New Democrats and Conservatives are starting to arrive at their respective headquarters. 

8 PM PST: 

POLLS ARE NOW CLOSED.

With the new electronic voting process, results are expected to roll in quicker than prior elections.

7:50 PM PST: 

Black Press Media reporter Arnold Lim is at Green headquarters in Victoria, where Sonia Furstenau has delivered a speech to the packed room of supporters.

7:35 PM PST: 

Black Press Media reporter Wolfgang Depner is at the B.C. NDP headquarters in Vancouver. The BC United's election viewing party, which Depner intended to visit through the evening, is closed to the media.

Ravi Kahlon, who served as B.C.'s housing minister, says he'll be in two locations tonight, starting at the NDP's election night headquarters at the Marriott Pinnacle Hotel ballroom in downtown Vancouver, then joining volunteers at his Delta North riding.

Kahlon says he did a lot of door knocking during the campaign and many people wanted to talk about housing.

He says he heard from many people who were supportive of the NDP's approach to building more affordable homes.

He says health care was also a top issue for voters.

7:30 PM PST: 

Black Press Media reporter Lauren Collins is at the B.C. Conservatives headquarters for the night, in Vancouver. 

7 PM PST: 

Voters in B.C. will soon learn the result of casting their ballots across the province, from who will represent their community to who will lead the province. 

The race is on between the New Democrats, led by David Eby, and John Rustad's B.C. Conservatives, with Green Leader Sonia Furstenau hoping her party can maintain a presence in the legislature.

The Conservatives, who won less than two per cent of the vote last election, stand on the brink of forming government or becoming the official Opposition, with leader Rustad challenging New Democrat incumbent David Eby to be premier.

Rustad shared a photo on social media Saturday showing himself smiling and walking with his wife to a voting station, with a message saying, "This is the first time Kim and I have voted for the Conservative Party of BC!"

To win a majority, a party must secure 47 seats in the 93-seat legislature.

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