Voters in British Columbia have spoken.
BC Premier Christy Clark, flanked by her son Hamish, addressed a crowd in Vancouver after last night’s election results. (Photo/CBC)
According to preliminary results, they have picked the province’s first minority government since 1952.
Premier Christy Clark’s Liberals won 43 seats, just one seat shy of a majority. The New Democrats under John Horgan increased their total to 41 seats, while the Green Party under Andrew Weaver looks to hold the balance of power with three seats.
In terms of popular support, the Liberals got the edge with 40.8 percent, followed by the NDP at 39.9 percent and the Greens at 16.7 percent.
But the Grits may yet reach the 44-seat threshold for a majority. In the Courtenay-Comox constituency, NDP hopeful Ronna-Rae Leonard mustered a nine-vote victory in the initial count over Liberal candidate Jim Benninger. Leonard took 10,058 votes to Benninger’s 10,049. This seat now goes to an automatic recount, which is conducted at the same time absentee votes are factored in.
The final count in this constituency is expected around May 22 to 24.
In other news, several cabinet ministers fell down to defeat. They include Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Peter Fassbender, Attorney General Suzanne Anton, Emergency Preparedness Minister Naomi Yamamoto, and Technology and Innovation Minister Amrik Virk.
B.C. Peace Remains Liberal
The Liberals retained their hold on both seats in the B.C. Peace Region.
In Peace River North, Fort St. John city councillor Dan Davies easily won the constituency, taking about 66 percent of the vote. His nearest challenger, Independent candidate Bob Fedderly, only mustered about 19 percent.
Heading to Peace River South, Education Minister Mike Bernier easily retained the constituency. The former mayor of Dawson Creek held it with almost 76 percent of the vote, crushing his only challenger, NDP hopeful Stephanie Goudie.
– Posted by BET
