Polls close in rain-drenched British Columbia election

by · iNFOnews.ca
A person walks to a polling station to vote on election day in Vancouver, on Saturday, October 19, 2024. Polls are now open in British Columbia, where voters in today's provincial election face a choice that would have been unthinkable just a few months ago. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Original Publication Date October 19, 2024 - 1:01 AM

VANCOUVER - Polls have closed in British Columbia after a rain-drenched election day in much of the province.

Voters braved high winds and torrential downpours brought by an atmospheric river weather system that forced closures of several polling stations due to power outages.

Residents faced a choice for the next government that would have seemed unthinkable just a few months ago, between the incumbent New Democrats led by David Eby and John Rustad’s B.C. Conservatives, who received less than two per cent of the vote last election

Green Leader Sonia Furstenau has acknowledged her party won’t win, but she’s hoping to retain a presence in the legislature, where the party currently has two members.

Elections BC has said results are expected quickly, with electronic vote tabulation being used provincewide for the first time.

The election authority expects most votes to be counted by about 8:30 p.m., and that the count will be "substantially complete" within another half-hour.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.