Voter turnout in the British Columbia election dropped to just 52.4 per cent, the lowest participation rate in more than 90 years. Statistics from Elections BC going back to 1928 show the second lowest voter turnout was 55.14 per cent during the 2009 election. The elections agency says in a statement the calculation this year includes ballots cast in advanced polls and on election day, as well as estimates of the numbers of absentee and mail-in ballots returned. It says fewer people voted on election day that those who voted in advanced polls. While there were more than 700,000 requests for v

One of the largest illicit drug labs ever found in BC has been raided in the north Okanagan. RCMP say the lab in Lumby was busted earlier this month and five BC men and an Alberta man are charged, but two of the BC suspects haven't been caught, although the other four men are expected to appear in a Kelowna courtroom tomorrow. Police say large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl were seized in the October 19th raid, along with hundreds of litres of chemicals and enough waste material to put area residents at risk and cause serious contamination to nearby farms. Removal and disposal of

Fraser Health has confirmed outbreaks of COVID-19 at two more assisted-living or long-term care homes in the hard-hit region. The health authority says in a statement individual staff members at Amenida Seniors' Community in Surrey, B.C., and Agassiz Seniors' Community near Chilliwack have tested positive. It says enhanced outbreak control measures are in place at each site and communication with residents and families is underway at both facilities that are privately owned and operated. B.C. reported 223 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, tipping the number of active infections over 2,000, whi

A man is dead and a woman is hurt after their vehicle crashed as police tried to pull it over, just north of Vernon, B.C. A statement from RCMP says an officer from the Vernon North Okanagan detachment spotted the Mazda 6 near Armstrong just after 3 a.m. Sunday and suspected it was stolen. It crashed into a shallow ditch minutes later, killing the driver and injuring the female passenger. The Independent Investigations Office, which examines all police-involved deaths or serious injures in B.C., confirms it has been called. It says a team will determine whether police actions or inactions con

John Horgan says there are still hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots yet to be counted following Saturday's election, but one thing is certain: he's headed back to the premier's office on Monday. The NDP leader took the risk of calling the snap election in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to gain a majority government after working with the Greens in a minority for the last 3 1/2 years. The final results of the election won't be known until at least Nov. 16, after Elections BC staff have screened and counted an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots. But Saturday's ballots were enough

British Columbia reported 223 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, tipping the number of active infections over 2,000. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says in a statement infections have been detected at two more assisted-living or long-term care homes and there are two new community outbreaks. The latest health-care outbreaks are at Laurel Place in Surrey and Fair Haven Homes at Burnaby Lodge, while the community outbreaks involve Coast Spas Manufacturing and Pace Processing in Langley. Outbreaks at a number of other care homes have been declared over, leaving 16 homes and two acute-c

Snowfall warnings and special weather statements covered much of southern BC this morning as a winter-like system made many roads treacherous. Snowfall warnings are posted for the East Kootenay, the Fraser Valley east to the Okanagan Valley and all the way north to the Chilcotin region, while special weather statements extend from the inland central coast, across the south coast and entire lower third of the province. Environment Canada is calling for five to 15 centimetres at higher elevations before the storm moves on later today. The heavy, wet snow had already closed the Coquihalla Highwa

Huge numbers of mail-in ballots mean the results of tomorrow's BC election will be fuzzy at best and Elections B-C says even the announcement of the official, final result, normally available about three weeks later, could be delayed. Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman says ballots from advance polls and general voting will be counted tomorrow night in what's called an initial count, but at least 480,000 mail-in ballots, and possibly more, will still need to be tallied during a final count. That happens over what is usually a 13 day window following election day, but Boegman warns unpreced

Candidates have just hours left to woo undecided voters as BC goes to the polls tomorrow, wrapping up a 28 day campaign. NDP Leader John Horgan started his day in New Westminster in the battleground riding of Richmond-Queensborough. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson visits ridings from North Vancouver to Maple Ridge today before concluding his bid for the premier's chair with a rally late this afternoon in Surrey. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau spends the last day of the campaign in her home riding on Vancouver Island, greeting voters and hold a news conference in Duncan.