Photo: Castanet Staff

UPDATE: 10:25 p.m.

For the fourth time in a row, incumbent BC Liberal candidate Norm Letnick sailed to a comfortable victory in the Kelowna-Lake Country riding Saturday night.

While he wasn't the first candidate in the province to be declared a winner, like in 2017, he got off to a strong lead Saturday night and held it.

With 96 of 116 ballot boxes reporting, Letnick has 56 per cent of the votes and a comfortable 3,600-vote lead over the NDP's Justin Kulik in second place.

“It's incredible the support that I've received in the riding over the last 12 or so years and I'm just so thankful to the people of Kelowna-Lake Country for allowing me to have this privilege to be their voice in Victoria for another four,” Letnick said after he was declared the winner.

Letnick stressed the importance of serving all of his constituents, not just those who voted for him.

The long-time representative of the riding, and former health critic of the last government, has been praised for putting aside partisan politics and collaborating with Health Minister Adrian Dix during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saturday night, Letnick joked that if the BC Liberals did end up forming government, he would want Dix to continue to present COVID-19 numbers with provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry in front of the cameras every week, as “he's obviously better at it,” since he's had a lot of practice.

But while there still could be more than 700,000 mail-in ballots to count, it appears the BC NDP will hold a majority government for the next four years. But the Okanagan will remain a BC Liberals stronghold.

“From my whole family, thanks to the people of Kelowna-Lake Country for trusting me with being their voice again,” Letnick said. “Please connect with me and make sure that I hear of issues that are important to you and I'm sure my staff and I will do everything we can to help.”

UPDATE: 9:15 p.m.

It looks like Norm Letnick will be elected to his fourth term as MLA for the Kelowna-Lake Country riding.

With 47 of the 116 ballot boxes reporting, the Canadian Press has declared Norm Letnick victorious, with 1,842 votes, or 54.11 per cent of the vote. 

In second place, the NDP's Justin Kulik has 25.71 per cent of the vote, about 1,000 votes behind Letnick. 

Letnick was first elected in the riding in 2009, and has served as the Liberal Party's health critic in recent years. 

UPDATE: 9 p.m.

Incumbent BC Liberal candidate Norm Letnick is off to an expected early lead in the Kelowna-Lake Country riding Saturday evening, an hour after polls closed. 

With 32 of 116 ballot boxes reporting, Letnick has a little more than 53 per cent of the vote, a large lead over second place – the NDP's Justin Kulik with 27 per cent. The Greens John Janmaat currently has about 17 per cent of the vote. 

But the 116 ballot boxes don't tell the whole story, with more than 10,194 requested mail-in ballots that won't be counted until mid-November.

ORIGINAL: 7 p.m.

The Kelowna-Lake Country riding has elected a BC Liberal candidate in every election since the riding was formed in 1996, and Saturday night, incumbent Norm Letnick is hoping to win his fourth election with the party.

The polls close across the province at 8 p.m. and while results from advance polling and Saturday's voting will come in throughout the evening, the more than 724,000 requested mail-in ballots won't be counted until mid-November. Of the 53,395 registered voters in the Kelowna-Lake Country riding, 10,194 requested mail-in ballots.

This year, Letnick is going up against the NDP's Justin Kulik, the Green's John Janmaat, Libertarian Kyle Geronazzo and independent Silverado Socrates.

In 2017, Letnick garnered 15,286 votes, compared to the NDP's Erik Olesen with 5,345 votes in second place, and Letnick was the first candidate in B.C. to be declared a winner. If Letnick is as successful this time around, a victory could be called on election night, without the need to wait for the mail-in ballots.

While this is Letnick's fourth provincial election, it's his twelfth election overall. This election carried with it some unique challenges though.

“I didn't believe my best approach would be to knock on people's doors during a pandemic, so I invited them to come and knock on my door,” Letnick said. “I took my camper out for 18 days and parked myself for four hours in different parts of the riding.”

Letnick said some of the issues he heard about from constituents included ICBC, childcare, taxes, housing and safety on the streets.

He says election night will be “bizarre” compared to years past, as he's holding a virtual Zoom meeting with volunteers and friends, rather than a standard election night party.

Castanet will be providing live election results throughout the night on site. This story will be updated with riding specific results.

Photo: Elections BC