UPDATE 7 p.m.
After three days of counting the remaining absentee and mail-in ballots, Elections BC says all 2,107,152 votes cast in the provincial election have now been counted.
And, they have declared the NDP have won the election.
After all the votes were counted, the NDP elected 47 MLAs, the BC Conservatives 44 and the Green Party two.
While the official counting is complete, judicial recounts will be held in two ridings where the vote totals are less than 1/500th of the total votes considered.
In Kelowna Centre, conservative Kristina Loewen leads NDP candidate Loyal Wooldridge by 38 votes. The threshold for a recount is 49 votes.
In Surrey-Guildford, the margin between the top two candidates is 27 votes while the threshold is 38.
Judicial recounts are conducted by the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and may include some of all of the ballots and certification envelopes for an election.
The court will determine the timing of the recount.
Applications for judicial recounts outside the threshold must be made by Nov. 4.
UPDATE 6:10 p.m.
The NDP are now leading in Surrey-Guildford by 27 votes, up from 16 votes an hour ago.
The BC Conservatives are projected to win the seat of Kelowna Centre where they hold a lead of 38 votes, up from 35 votes at last update.
Estimates suggest there should be very few votes left to count in either riding, but the count is still listed as “in progress.”
Both ridings are within the margin that triggers a judicial recount, but Premier David Eby has been asked by the lieutenant-governor to form government.
UPDATE 5:15 p.m.
The NDP are now leading in Surrey-Guildford by 16 votes, down from 18 votes an hour ago.
The BC Conservatives are projected to win the seat of Kelowna Centre where they hold a lead of 35 votes, down from 43 votes at last update.
It is estimated that there are 11 votes left to count in Surrey-Guildford and one in Kelowna Centre, but Elections BC says counting continues.
Both seats may still see a judicial recount, which can be triggered in ridings where the margin of victory is less than 1/500th of the total ballots considered.
That mark is 50 votes in Kelowna Centre and 38 votes in Surrey-Guildford.
If the results hold as expected, the NDP will capture 47 seats, followed by the Conservatives with 44 seats. The Greens have two seats.
"Based on today’s final vote count, and pending judicial recounts, British Columbians have asked our BC NDP team to lead our province for a third time,” said Premier David Eby in a news release.
“It is an incredible honour and a huge responsibility. We are listening to the message voters sent with this close election, and will be getting to work on today’s tough challenges right away.”
Eby says he's been asked by Lt-Gov. Janet Austin to form the next government.
He met Austin on Monday and said he will "work hard every day to earn the trust" British Columbians have placed in the party.
UPDATE 4:10 p.m.
The BC NDP are poised to form a majority government, pending judicial recounts.
The NDP are leading in Surrey-Guildford by 18 votes, up from 17 votes last hour.
The BC Conservatives are projected to win the seat of Kelowna Centre where they hold a lead of 43 votes with just a handful of votes left to count.
Both seats may still see a judicial recount, which can be triggered in ridings where the margin of victory is less than 1/500th of the total ballots considered.
That mark is 50 votes in Kelowna Centre and 38 votes in Surrey-Guildford.
If the results hold as expected, the NDP will capture 47 seats, followed by the Conservatives with 44 seats. The Greens have two seats.
UPDATE 3:10 p.m.
The BC NDP are now leading in Surrey-Guildford by 17 votes, down from 18 votes at the previous update.
The BC Conservative lead in Kelowna Centre is down to 44 votes, from 46 an hour ago.
It is estimated that there are roughly 28 votes left to count in Surrey-Guildford while the number remaining in Kelowna Centre is believed to be around a dozen.
Judicial recounts can still be triggered in ridings where the margin of victory is less than 1/500th of the total ballots considered. That mark is 50 votes in Kelowna Centre and 38 votes in Surrey-Guildford.
The NDP are on the verge of forming a majority government with 47 seats, followed by the Conservatives with 44 seats. The Greens have two seats.
UPDATE 2:10 p.m.
The BC NDP have now extended their lead in Surrey-Guildford to 18 votes.
That is up from a nine vote lead an hour ago.
The BC Conservative lead in Kelowna Centre has slipped to 46 votes, down from 64 last hour.
Chad Skelton, data journalist and Kwantlen University instructor, estimates there are around 43 votes left to count in Surrey-Guildford and roughly 16 in Kelowna Centre.
Updates are coming every hour as Elections BC carries out the final count of absentee and special ballots
Elections BC also announced that they have completed their recount in Juan Fuca-Malahat, where the NDP are up by 123 votes.
The BC NDP are now leading in 47 ridings—a majority government—while the Conservatives have 44 seats. The Greens have two seats.
Judicial recounts can still be triggered in ridings where the margin of victory is less than 1/500th of the total ballots considered.
