NDP Claims North Coast, Liberals claim the Province

Election night, was an evening of mixed emotions for local NDP supporters, while the local NDP organization mounted an effective and successful campaign to get their candidate Jennifer Rice elected to the Legislature.

Across BC it wasn't quite the night of celebration that would be found on the North Coast.

Ms. Rice, the City Councillor who claimed the NDP nomination in January, took off to an early lead in the first poll reports and never looked back.  Holding a 1,500 plus vote margin over her nearest challenger on the night, the BC Liberals Judy Fraser.  

Third place finisher, Hondo Arendt of the Green Party filled out the ballot for the day, receiving close to 800 votes when the counting was complete.

In percentages, the NDP claimed 56.61 percent of the vote, the Liberals 33.12 and the Green Party 10.26 of those that cast their ballots in this years election.

For the two main parties, Tuesday night provided for a drop in their totals from the last election of 2009, While the Green party increased their vote count from four years ago.

NDP     2013 Jennifer Rice    4,341       2009 Gary Coons  4,940

Liberal  2013 Judy Fraser       2,500      2009 Herb Pond    2,981

Green   2013 Hondo Arendt     787       2009 Lisa Girbav     658

The NDP dropping 599 votes and the Liberals shedding some 481, would seem to indicate that either the number of voters has dropped in the riding, or that more than a few of the more reliable of voters for both parties chose to  sit this one out.

With her election to the Legislature, Ms. Rice will soon have to make a decision regarding her seat at Prince Rupert City Council and whether she will attempt to hold the dual positions through the summer, or step down from Municipal office and send Prince Rupert residents to a potential by-election race.

That however is probably a conversation for another day, for now the Councillor will have many other things to concentrate on, joining a depleted NDP caucus in Victoria and one in opposition.  A most un-anticipated thing we imagine heading into election day on Tuesday.

While the NDP clearly got out their vote on the North Coast, the same could not be said for the party in a good number of ridings that they most likely felt safe about heading into Tuesday morning.

In one of the more remarkable election nights in B. C. history, the front running NDP were sideswiped on polling day, their anticipated majority disappearing shortly after the polls were closed and the counting began. A night which many believed would end with a celebration instead, took on the features of a wake as the NDP numbers never came in.

While NDP leader Adrian Dix held his own seat, the NDP at the end of the night had actually lost seats in the Legislature, as the Liberals took seat after seat in key swing riding's of the province, surprising most pundits and pollsters with a seat total of 50 by the end of the evening, up two from when the Legislature last held session. 

The NDP claimed 33 seats by the evening's end, while the Green Party elected their first MLA to the Legislature with a representative from Victoria. One Independent was also returned to the Legislature.

The Final results making for a stunning political comeback for Premier Christy Clark, who while not finding success in her own riding of Vancouver-Point Grey, delivered the vote for the Liberal party in many riding's across the province.

The nature of the Liberal comeback left many a pundit looking a little sheepish on the various political broadcasts of Tuesday night, some of the print contributions from the aftermath of election night can be found below.

Vancouver Sun-- Vaughn Palmer-- Everyone was wrong- except for the Liberals and the voters

The Province-- Michael Smyth- Clark made this election all about the economy, and Dix let it happen

Globe and Mail-- Turnaround after 'full on battle' surprises even B. C. Liberals

Victoria Times Colonist- Les Leyne- NDP watch election victory fly by their eyes

Initial numbers on the voter turn out provided a disappointing report of 48 percent, that total however was revised after Midnight, with the number of voter participation trending towards 52 percent, compared to 50.9 percent in 2009.  

Still not a resounding endorsement for political participation, but decidedly better than those early returns in the upper forties. But a result that indicates that much work remains to be done to have British Columbians become more involved in their political process.

You can review the results of the campaign from a variety of sources.

Elections BC

CBC-- BC Votes 2013

CTV BC-- Election Coverage

Global BC-- Decision BC

Globe and Mail-- BC Votes 2013

Times Colonist-- Election coverage

Vancouver Sun-- Election 2013

Vancouver Province-- Election 2013

The Tyee-- The Election Guide

Notes on the local campaigns on the North Coast and Skeena can be found below:

The Northern View-- Jennifer Rice elected North Coast MLA

CFNR-- Rice wins North Coast 

CFTK-- Rice Holds North Coast Seat for NDP

CFNR-- Close race in Skeena

CFTK-- Northwest Numbers (video)
CFTK-- Rice Wins MLA (video)
CFTK-- Austin Wins (video)
CFTK-- New Democrat Robin Austin Declares Victory in Skeena

Terrace Standard-- It's Official. Austin holds Skeena seat