100,000 Underage Voters Elect NDP Majority; Liberals form Official Opposition

Elementary and high school students across the province participated in Student Vote: a parallel election program coinciding with the British Columbia provincial election.

After learning about the democratic process, researching the party platforms, hosting candidate forums and debating the future of British Columbia, students cast their ballots for local candidates.

More than 100,000 votes were reported from more than 690 schools representing all 85 electoral divisions across the province. In preliminary results, students elected an NDP government and a Liberal opposition.

The NDP won 54 seats, forming a majority government, and captured 38.54 per cent of the popular vote. Leader Adrian Dix won his seat in Vancouver-Kingsway, receiving 59.52 per cent of the vote.

The Liberals took 20 seats and 28.08 per cent of the popular vote. Premier Christy Clark lost in Vancouver-Point Grey, receiving 28.50 per cent of the vote. Clark was defeated by NDP challenger David Eby, who received 40.42 per cent of the vote.

The Green Party won 8 seats and captured 17.26 per cent of the popular vote. Leader Jane Sterk won her seat in Victoria-Beacon Hill with 42.81 per cent of the vote.

The BC Conservatives received no seats in the Student Vote, though they took 8.59 per cent of the popular vote. Leader John Cummins was unable to win a seat in his Langley riding.

Three independent candidates won their seats including John Van Dongen (Abbotsford South), Bob Simpson (Cariboo North) and Vicki Huntington (Delta South).

Students have voted for the same governing party as the adults in 16 out of 19 elections. However, students in British Columbia selected an NDP majority government in both 2005 and 2009.

VIEW COMPLETE RESULTS HERE: http://www.studentvote.ca/bc2013/results