B.C. election results still uncertain as NDP and Conservatives vie for Greens' support

Saturday was a wild election night in B.C., where the dust is still settling and there isn’t a clear winner—but the B.C. Conservatives claimed a historic numbers of seats.

“This has been a night where we have seen the political landscape change forever,” John Rustad said Saturday night.

On Monday, Elections B.C. results show the NDP have 46 MLAs elected or leading, the Conservatives with 45 MLAs and the BC Greens with two, seemingly holding the balance of power needed to reach 47 seats, the minimum number needed for a majority government.

“We’re right in a hyper, hyper uncertain environment politically in this province,” said University of Victoria political scientist Michael Prince.

Two races are so close—within 100 votes—that a recount is required. In Juan de Fuca-Malahat, the NDP candidate had a 20-ballot margin of victory, and in Surrey City Centre the NDP was only 95 votes ahead.

There are also nearly 50,000 mail-in ballots that arrived after advance polls closed. It’ll be up to a week before those and the two recounts are done.

NDP leader Daivd Eby remains premier, as long as the number hold, but was subdued in his speech to supporters on Saturday night.

“We gotta do better, and that was our commitment to British Columbians, and we will do better,” he told them.

If the numbers don't change, he gets first crack at forming a government, likely in the new year, after MLAs for all parties are sworn in along with his cabinet in the next couple of months.

But Eby and the NDP will need the support of the B.C. Greens’ two new MLAs Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell – a party that are again power brokers, despite leader Sonia Furstenau losing her race on Saturday. Retiring Saanich North and the Islands MLA, Adam Olsen, remained tight lipped about potential deals with other parties.

“This election isn’t over yet; there are a handful of seats that are really, really close,” he said on Monday – while meeting with both Botterell and Valeriote to show the two rookies around the legislature, their new office.

Meanwhile, Rustad, buoyed by his party's performance, is defiant he'll topple an NDP attempt at government as soon as he can and isn’t ruling out co-operating with the Greens to form government.

“There are some things that I think we could work together on, some things I think we could make actually happen, so I’m looking forward to having those discussions with the Greens,” he said.