Save for later British Columbia voters who hadn’t already cast a ballot in the province’s election had their last opportunity to make their choice. More than a million of B.C.'s 3.5

million registered voters had cast their ballots in advance or by mail-in ballot during the pandemic-era election. Those votes will not be counted today, but rather, under the terms of the

Elections Act, starting Nov. 6 at the earliest. That will delay the outcome of the first B.C. election held during a pandemic until mid November. RECENT HEADLINES: NDP Leader John Horgan

returns with majority government after calling election Opinion: B.C. NDP’s pandemic election gamble pays off Key ridings to watch in the B.C. election Here’s where the Greens, Liberals and

getting re-elected. They will be joined by environmental engineer Jeremy Valeriote in the West Vancouver-Sea to Sky riding. Furstenau says the NDP will quickly discover the strength of the

three -member Green caucus. She says the NDP engineered the election in order to win a majority but were only partially successful in their effort to cripple opposition voices, especially

the Greens. Furstenau says the Greens will put forward a hopeful vision to help people endure the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Furstenau was elected Green leader one week before NDP Leader

John Horgan called a snap election more than a year ahead of schedule. _- Canadian Press_ ------------------------- 10:40 p.m. PDT / 1:40 a.m. EDT HORGAN WILL GO BACK TO WORK ON MONDAY NDP

Leader John Horgan says he will go back to work on Monday and focus on helping residents get through the COVID-19 pandemic as he awaits the final results of the B.C. election. Like

Wilkinson, Horgan acknowledged the high number of mail-in ballots that need to be counted. Horgan says he will invest in schools, long-term care and childcare. “One thing we know for certain

is that on Monday I’ll be going back to work and we’re going to be putting people, businesses and others who are focused on getting through the pandemic at the front of everything that we

do,” said Horgan during a victory speech in a room that was largely empty due as a result of pandemic restrictions. The NDP have been elected in at least 50 ridings, including in North

Vancouver-Seymour where Liberal incumbent Jane Thornthwaite has lost her seat to her NDP rival. Thornwaite was criticized by opposition politicians for comments she made about fellow North

Vancouver MLA Bowinn Ma during a celebratory roast for a retiring colleague in September. _- Canadian Press_ ------------------------- 10:25 p.m. PDT / 1:25 a.m. EDT OPPOSITION LEADER SAYS

MAIL-IN BALLOTS WILL SHOW FINAL RESULTS Opposition Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson says it appears the NDP will have the opportunity to form the B.C. government, but he notes there are still

at least half a million ballots to count. Wilkinson, who earlier was re-elected to his seat of Vancouver-Quilchena, says mail-in ballots will determine the final results. He did say during

his speech that the NDP was clearly ahead and it appeared John Horgan’s party would have the opportunity to form government. The Liberals were elected or leading in 29 ridings, NDP in 55

ridings, while the Greens had elected three members to the legislature. The final results will not be known for at least two weeks due to the large number of mail-in ballots cast throughout

the province, and Wilkinson says those votes must be counted before the election is called. The Liberals held 41 seats in Opposition to a New Democrat government supported by the Greens when

the election was called in September, a year ahead of B.C.'s fixed election date. Liberal incumbents Todd Stone, Mike Bernier and Teresa Wat have been re-elected, although several

Liberal incumbents lost their seats Saturday. Both Liberals Mary Polak and Sam Sullivan lost their seats. _- Canadian Press_ ------------------------- 10:10 p.m. PDT / 1:10 a.m. EDT

RICHMOND-QUEENSBOROUGH AND VANCOUVER-FALSE CREEK RIDINGS BC Liberal Jas Johal, a former high-profile TV reporter who has once considered running for the leadership of the BC Liberals,

appeared have been defeated by NDP candidate Aman Singh in Richmond-Queensborough. In 2017, Mr. Johal won the seat by 263 votes over Mr. Singh, a lawyer. BC Liberal Sam Sullivan, a former

Vancouver mayor, was running behind NDP candidate Brenda Bailey, a tech entrepreneur, in Vancouver-False Creek, a riding that Mr. Sullivan has represented since 2013. _- Ian Bailey_

------------------------- 10 p.m. PDT / 1 a.m. EDT NEW NDP WINS, GREENS PICK UP THIRD SEAT Former New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen has won on his first attempt at provincial politics. Cullen

won his riding of Stikine, despite facing a backlash after he was overheard making negative comments about a B.C. Liberal candidate in a neighbouring riding. The Greens have picked up a

third, with Jeremy Valeriote winning West Vancouver-Sea to Sky to join Green Leader Sonia Furstenau and Adam Olsen as the party’s representatives in the legislature. _- Canadian Press_

------------------------- 10 p.m. PDT / 1 a.m. EDT GREEN LEADER WINS HER B.C. SEAT Green party leader Sonia Furstenau has been re-elected in her Cowichan Valley riding in the B.C. election.

_- Canadian Press_ ------------------------- 9:50 p.m. PDT / 12:50 p.m. EDT RIDING TO FORMER GREEN LEADER ANDREW WEAVER NOW NDP The riding that was once held by former Green party leader

Andrew Weaver has been won by the NDP in the B.C. election. Former New Democrat member of Parliament Murray Rankin, who represented Victoria federally, beat the Green party in Oak Bay-Gordon

Head. Education Minister Rob Fleming has also been re-elected on Vancouver Island, holding his seat of Victoria-Swan Lake. Fleming had faced criticism from the BC Teachers' Federation

over the handling of school re-openings during the COVID-19 pandemic. _- Canadian Press_ ------------------------- 9:15 p.m. PDT / 12:15 p.m. EDT NDP VICTORIOUS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA ELECTION

NDP leader John Horgan’s gamble, calling an early election amid the pandemic, has paid off and he will return to the B.C. legislature as premier once again. Mr. Horgan is the second premier

in Canada to upgrade a minority government amid the pandemic, following in the footsteps of New Brunswick’s Progressive Conservatives. With more than 25 per cent of the polls reporting, the

NDP were leading and elected in 47 seats – which would be enough to command a majority in the 87 seat legislature if those numbers hold up. Mr. Horgan called the snap election on Sept. 21, a

year ahead of schedule, asking British Columbians to give him a stable majority government to manage the COVID-19 crisis. While the second wave of the virus arrived in the province, the

government went into caretaker mode for 32 days as the politicians campaigned in a pandemic-inspired bubble. _- Justine Hunter_ ------------------------- 9 p.m. PDT / 12 p.m. EDT WILKINSON

OF THE BC LIBERALS RE-ELECTED AS MLA Andrew Wilkinson of the BC Liberal Party has been re-elected as MLA in Vancouver-Quilchena, keeping the seat for the party. Wilkinson won 1,456 out of

2,664 counted votes _- Canadian Press_ ------------------------- 8:50 p.m. PDT / 11:50 p.m. EDT HEALTH MINISTER DIX WINS RIDING Health Minister Adrian Dix has won his riding of

Vancouver-Kingsway in the B.C. election. Early results show the New Democrats beating the Liberals. The NDP has just over 45 per cent of the popular vote, compared with 34.6 for the Liberals

and the Greens have 15.9 per cent. A party needs 44 seats to form a majority government in B.C. _- Canadian Press_ ------------------------- 8:45 p.m. PDT / 11:45 p.m. EDT PARTIES AWAIT

RESULTS AS VOTE COUNTS ROLL IN On election night, NDP leader John Horgan watched the returns in a downtown Vancouver hotel room. In a ballroom in the same hotel, the party’s headquarters for

election night looked very different than a normal election. The pandemic protocols meant that party supporters were not allowed to gather, in fact just a handful of broadcast journalists

were allowed in the room where Mr. Horgan was expected to eventually speak. Even before the polls closed, the Liberals were appealing to their supporters for donations to help pay for

challenges to election results in the coming weeks. “We need to ensure fairness and integrity in every riding in British Columbia,” wrote party president Paul Barbeau in an email. He

predicted thousands of the mail-in ballots could be rejected, promising some intense disputes in close races. Many of the early mail-in ballots were mailed out before nominations closed, so

voters were required to write in the name of their preferred candidate or party. “That means training volunteers, deploying field staff, and maybe even retaining lawyers to monitor the final

ballot count in key ridings,” Mr. Barbeau wrote. _- Justine Hunter_ ------------------------- 8 p.m. PDT / 11 p.m. EDT POLLS CLOSE IN THE 2020 B.C. ELECTION The polls have closed in British

Columbia’s election, but whether a winner can be declared Saturday night is up in the air because of an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots. Mail-in-ballot requests surged during the

pandemic. The pandemic meant the election was mostly fought online. Gone were rallies, replaced by virtual town halls. Handshakes turned into elbow bumps. _- Canadian Press_

------------------------- 7:30 p.m. PDT / 10:30 p.m. EDT WATCH KEY RIDINGS Chilliwack-Kent, Coquitlam-Burke and Mountain Cowichan Valley are among some of The Globe’s recommendations of

ridings to follow this election. Click here to find more information on key ridings in the B.C. election _- Ian Bailey_ ------------------------- 7 p.m. PDT / 10 p.m. EDT ABOUT HALF A

MILLION MAIL-IN BALLOTS RETURNED Elections BC says nearly half a million mail-in ballots have been returned as people tried to avoid going to the polls to vote in B.C.'s election during

the pandemic. It says 724,279 vote-by-mail packages were requested, with nearly 498,000 returned as of Friday night. Voters had until the polls close today to return the mail-in ballots.

There are nearly 3.5 million registered voters in British Columbia. _- Canadian Press_ ------------------------- 9 a.m. PDT / 12 p.m. EDT LEADERS GO TO THE POLLS NDP Leader John Horgan was

among just over 681,000 people who cast their ballots during the week-long advance voting period that ended Wednesday. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau voted early Saturday at a community centre

in the Vancouver Island community of Shawnigan Lake, and Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson cast his ballot at a polling station in Vancouver. “From what I have heard, turnout has been steady

throughout the morning and I think things have gone well so far,” Andy Watson said, from Victoria, in an interview. “I’ve heard of some places having lines. I haven’t heard of extensive

lines anywhere.” _- Justine Hunter, Ian Bailey, Canadian Press_ ------------------------- 8 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. EDT POLLS OPEN There is no computer network allowing Elections BC to know in

real time how many voters were casting ballots on voting day. _- Canadian Press_ ------------------------- MORE HEADLINES Eager to imprint: BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson strives to make

his mark B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau wants party to focus on ‘addressing the growing inequality’ in the province A calculated risk: NDP Leader John Horgan on his decision for a snap

election in B.C. and the rough road that could lie ahead Facebook says its election integrity strategy is in effect in B.C. MORE OPINION AND ANALYSIS Editorial: In B.C.’s pandemic election,

the Liberals and NDP have reversed roles _With files from the Canadian Press_