NDP, Liberals neck-and-neck

The Liberals and the NDP were locked in a tight race in British Columbia’s election on Tuesday with about a dozen ridings in the province’s 87-seat legislature still to be determined at 11 p.m.

Thirty-seven Liberals were elected to the legislature compared with 35 New Democrats, with the NDP gaining ground in the seat-rich Lower Mainland where it had focused its campaign.

The Greens achieved a historic breakthrough by electing two members to the legislature: Leader Andrew Weaver, who kept his seat in Oak BayGordon Head, and Adam Olsen, elected to Saanich North and the Islands.

The election campaign began four weeks ago with Liberal Leader Christy Clark and the NDP’s John Horgan facing what was predicted to be a close battle to become B.C.’s next premier, and Weaver looking to make gains for his third-place party.

Attorney General Suzanne Anton lost her Vancouver riding in one of the first upsets of the night for the Liberals as election results were still rolling in. Peter Fassbender, another cabinet minister, also lost his seat in SurreyFleetwood.

The NDP nearly swept the city of Vancouver and won a handful of battleground ridings in the suburbs of Metro Vancouver, including seats in Burnaby, Surrey, Coquitlam and Delta.

The Liberals were trying to win a fifth successive majority government after holding power for 16 years and promoted their party as the only one that could create and protect jobs.

Horgan won his seat in LangfordJuan de Fuca, while Christy Clark won in Kelowna West.

There was plenty of smiles and laughter early on at Liberal headquarters as the party took an early lead in the polls. But the mood became more tense as the evening progressed, and faces became more serious as the NDP began to catch up.

Supporters applauded as Liberal candidates were declared elected, especially when news came in that Clark had retained her seat. Silence greeted news that the NDP had taken the lead in several swing ridings in Burnaby and Surrey in the Vancouver area.

Clark’s campaign strategy marked a return to the Liberals’ winning approach in 2013, when she promoted her party as the only one that could create and protect jobs while portraying the NDP as disastrous managers of the economy.

While Clark’s promise of a booming liquefied natural gas industry has not materialized over the past four years, Clark was able to point to B.C.’s strong economy as proof of the Liberals’ financial savvy. The province has Canada’s lowest unemployment rate and has led the country in economic growth two years in a row.

Horgan sought to portray Clark as out of touch with regular British Columbians who feel the economy is not working for them, while Weaver cast the Greens as political outsiders.