The B.C. NDP's Grace Lore will be returning to the B.C. Legislature to represent Victoria-Beacon Hill.
Preliminary results give Lore 12,715 votes, followed by B.C. Green Party candidate Sonia Furstenau with 9,027 votes and B.C. Conservative Tim Thielmann with 5,171.
"I'm incredibly grateful for the support of the voters of Victoria-Beacon Hill," said Lore. "It's been the honour of my lifetime to serve as MLA and I cannot wait to get back to ... investing in and supporting people and representing this incredible community."
Lore added what she is feeling most right now is gratitude.
"Gratitude for the voters ... but also for the incredible group of volunteers," she said. "We had dozens and dozens of volunteers, people who were in the office every day, people who were out in the pouring rain today, and gratitude for my family. No one has given up more than them for this campaign and for the last four years. They've given up a lot for what is a shared family belief that we owe our neighbours the best."
Outgoing cabinet minister Rob Fleming had kind words to say about Lore following her win.
"Credit to Grace Lore who has been an MLA for four years and has stepped into one of the toughest ministries in all government – minister of children and family development – [and has] obviously done a fantastic job and is an excellent MLA," he said.
Despite his loss, Thielmann said he is proud of what the B.C. Conservatives have achieved.
"A year and a half ago, the party was at two per cent in the polls – something like that – and now we are vying for a majority government," he said. "We've destroyed another party. We've come out of nowhere just like an earthquake. It's pretty incredible to see, I think."
"We've created space for people to discuss ... the kind of challenges that desperately need to be discussed here, whether it's on drug policy, whether it's about gender ideology, whether it's about approaches to health care and housing and many other issues," he added.
Still, he is concerned about the future of Victoria-Beacon Hill under B.C. NDP leadership.
"I'm quite pained because I don't know how many people we need to see lying face down on Pandora before people realize that we need to try something new," he said. "There's just so much pain and suffering in the city, and I'm saddened by the fact that many people were persuaded by what I consider to be persistent and flagrant lies by David Eby and his party."
Furstenau, who leads the B.C. Green Party, spoke to supporters at a press conference in Victoria.
"It has been such an honour to be an MLA," she said. "It's not the outcome that we'd hope for in Victoria Beacon-Hill tonight, but I'm so proud of the campaign that we ran. We knew we were up against the steep hill. We were trying something bold and new. But the challenge was a little more than we could do."
"This is a passing of the torch and I am going to be there to mentor and guide and lead in any way that I can," she added.
Preliminary provincial results show the B.C. NDP leading in 46 ridings, B.C. Conservatives with 45 and B.C. Greens holding the lead in two seats.
Lore was elected in Victoria-Beacon Hill in the 2020 provincial election, after receiving 54.6 per cent of votes. B.C. Green Party and B.C. Liberal candidates Jenn Neilson and Karen Bill followed behind, with 29.9 per cent and 14.4 per cent, respectively. B.C. NDP candidates have won the South Island riding for 28 of the last 33 years.
