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The quick read: Decision desks projected a Conservative majority on election night, October 24, ending nine years of NDP government in British Columbia. Interim leader Lorne Doerkson, re-elected in Cariboo-Chilcotin, is set to become premier once results are certified. In the Central Okanagan, Macklin McCall was re-elected in West Kelowna-Peachland with more than 62 per cent of the vote, while Kelowna Centre was still too close to call.

British Columbians voted for change on Saturday, and the verdict was not close.

The Conservative Party, led by interim leader Lorne Doerkson, won a majority government in the October 24 snap election, the party's first time forming government since 1928.

Early counts put the Conservatives above 60 seats, with the NDP falling below 30 and the Greens holding two, though final certified totals will take days or weeks as Elections BC counts mail-in and absentee ballots.

Premier David Eby conceded on election night and resigned as NDP leader, taking responsibility for the defeat after nine years in government.

The result is a rebuke of a government that ran a projected 13.8 billion dollar deficit this fiscal year with no global financial crisis to blame.

Doerkson's Conservatives campaigned on tax cuts, deficit reduction, public safety, health care, and expanding natural gas development, including repealing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

Here in the Central Okanagan, the blue wave was unmistakable.

Macklin McCall was re-elected in West Kelowna-Peachland with more than 62 per cent of the vote, up from 50.9 per cent in 2024, telling supporters, "Tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow, the work begins."

Two Kelowna-area ridings went Conservative, while Kelowna Centre remained too close to call, according to Castanet's election-night coverage.

The honest caveat for conservative voters: the new government's own plan still projects a deficit of about 10.8 billion dollars in 2029-30, with no balanced budget in its four-year outlook.

Winning the election was the easy part.

Now Doerkson has to prove that a government promising tax relief and spending restraint can actually deliver both, and Central Okanagan voters will be watching whether the promises on health care, housing, and public safety turn into results.

Sources: CTV News projections and election-night reporting; Elections BC counts via BC Ballot; Castanet election wrap; Black Press Media. Photo by Mario Mendez on Unsplash.