UPDATE 11:26 p.m.
Reporters have returned to newsroom home base to file for print deadline - and, in the meantime, Burnaby has officially gone orange.
In Burnaby North, Janet Routledge has 9,057 votes to Richard T. Lee's 7,816, knocking the incumbent out of office with 83 of 85 ballot boxes reporting.
Katrina Chen defeated Steve Darling in Burnaby-Lougheed, with 9,845 votes to the Liberal's 7,698.
In Burnaby-Deer Lake, Anne Kang posted 7,639 votes to Liberal Karen Wang's 5,827, while, in Burnaby-Edmonds, Raj Chouhan earned 9,613 votes to Liberal Garrison Duke's 5,852.
UPDATE 10:22 p.m.
Raj Chouhan gave credit to all levels of NDP leadership in the city, noting the impact of Mayor Derek Corrigan, and MPs Peter Julian and Kennedy Stewart during the campaign.
"I want to say thank you for our team. This was the first time all four campaigns worked so closely together, each and every day."
He called fellow NDP winner Anne Kang, who won in the riding previously held by the NDP's Kathy Corrigan, a "very dynamic new MLA for Burnaby-Deer Lake."
He also heaped praise on NDP leader John Horgan.
"I'm so proud of our leader. ... He put the team together. We had the most diverse team ever in the history of B.C."
UPDATE: Burnaby-Deer Lake
Anne Kang, carrying a bouquet of flowers and posing for photos with well-wishers, is beaming as she pauses for a brief interview.
"I'm so thrilled, I can't believe that I was elected!" she says.
She says the victory was due to the efforts of her incredible team of volunteers, who have been so passionate about door-knocking in the riding.
On a night when races across B.C. have been seesawing, Kang attributes her victory to all the time she and her team have put in to really talk to voters - and listen to them.
"It's just being in the community all the time, it's the communtiy connections I have built."
She says she'll be happy to pause now and spend a little time with her children - seven-year-old Theodore and nine-year-old Elizabeth-Anne - and with husband Diego Lin.
All three of them, she says, were a huge help through her campaign, and Diego has been at her side the whole time.
She also notes that all of her volutneers have been great with her children.
"We're a solid team," she says.
UPDATE: Burnaby North
With 72 of 85 polls reporting in Burnaby North, NDP candidate Janet Routledge might just get the victory she had hoped for in the 2013 provincial election.
Routledge lost the previous election to incumbent Liberal Richard Lee by only a small margin of votes, but after more than a decade in power, Lee’s time as MLA might be over. The Liberal candidate is trailing Routledge by 962 votes (as of 10:06 p.m.).
It’s unlikely Lee will see a surge big enough in the final dozen polls to defeat Routledge, which could mean an NDP sweep of Burnaby. Stay tuned for more.
UPDATE:
10:04 p.m.
Burnaby-Deer Lake looks set to stay in NDP hands with Anne Kang leading in the riding held previously by Kathy Corrigan.
Like her predecessor, Kang made the move into provincial politics with plenty of public service under her belt: Kang as a city councillor in Burnaby and Corrigan as a long-time Burnaby school district trustee.
Kang says she made the decision to move from municipal politics to provincial because she understands what an important role B.C. government can play in people's lives.
“As a teacher and a mother I was driven by a passion for improving education and services for kids, including child care and better health care.”
Kang told the crowd of supporters that her run was “all about you.”
“It was about building a better B.C. for every British Columbian.”
Kang was enthusiastic about what the future will hold and thankful for the support that led to the election results.
"I'm so super super excited right now, I don't know what to say. ... It's the team that made this happen. Volunteers, hands up in the air!"
Kang will join long-time Burnaby MLA Raj Chouhan in Victoria.
"It's a great night for Burnaby, and I'm so proud of everyone. I'm so proud of my brother Raj Chouhan as well. ... I'm so proud that I represent a great community. I know I have big shoes to fill following Kathy Corrigan. Now it's time to get to work."
Chouhan spoke to the crowd as well, thanking his wife and family, including granddaughters watching from home.
"I love you so much, thank you all," he said.
9:35 p.m.
If you could hand out a Most Excited Supporter award, it would have to be Khalid Boudreau.
The 17-year-old - who has been volunteering on the NDP campaigns in Edmonds, Lougheed and Deer Lake - has been one of the most vocal people in the room all night.
"I'm feeling excited!" he announces, rather unnecessarily, with a jump and a fist pump.
"Obviously I'm not going to call it, but all of our candidates are doing so well. I like the results for the campaigns I've worked on."
He, like Kennedy Stewart, notes that advance polls haven't reported yet - and, he says, advance polls are historically good for the NDP.
"I think we can probably pull it off," he says confidently.
Oh, and by the way - he can't vote yet. But the first chance he gets, he'll be at the polls casting a ballot for Team Orange.
9:22 p.m.
Is there a doctor in the house at the Burnaby Firefighters' Public House? Because it seems there are more than a few people in the room right now who may need medical intervention if the race gets any closer.
Watching the numbers on the big screen flip from orange to red and back to orange again has the crowd alternately cheering and groaning and cheering again, leaping to their feet occasionally and putting their heads in their hands at other moments.
MP Kennedy Stewart, who's been chatting and working the room since the evening began, is poised and smiling but confesses it's a nail-biter of a night.
"It's still early in the evening yet," he says.
Stewart says he's thrilled with the performance of the four Burnaby New Democrats.
"I have never seen candidates like these. They have been so good. It was really flawless campaigning," he said.
Stewart pointed out that Burnaby has historically had close races, both federally and provincially - noting that even NDP icon and former MP Svend Robinson had many close races in his career.
"It's always close, and I'm sure expecting tonight will be no different," he said.
And Stewart also points out that advance poll numbers - which may well be difference-makers in close ridings - have yet to be counted.
Burnaby-Edmonds' Raj Chouhan is still the only candidate present (Anne Kang's campaign manager, Roseanne Moran, said in a phone call that they'll be watching a few more results before coming over but expect to be here by 10).
9 p.m.
It's 9 p.m. and the room at the Burnaby Firefighters' Public House, campaign HQ for the NDP for the night, is finally growing animated.
As more poll numbers come in that show some gains for the NDP provincewide, the crowd is starting to cheer and exchange high-fives.
Locally, Katrina Chen's early numbers - showing her now leading over the Liberals' Steve Darling in Burnaby-Lougheed, elicit the biggest cheer thus far.
A few well-known NDP stalwarts are now on hand, including councillors Nick Volkow, Paul McDonell and Pietro Calendino, but the rest of the candidates have yet to be seen.
UPDATE: Burnaby-Lougheed
Some 30 Liberal supporters are at the White Spot in Kensington Square to watch the results for Burnaby-Lougheed come in.
Liberal candidate Steve Darling was supposed to make an appearance around 8:30 p.m., but has yet to be seen. The evening started with cheers, as Darling made gains in the first few polls, but “boos” were heard as the crowd watched the B.C. NDP push ahead in Burnaby’s four ridings.
Darling is expected to address the crowd later tonight. Until then, attendees are eating appies and sipping beers and cocktails.
Peter Thomas, 21, is a first time B.C. election voter. He lives in Burnaby-Lougheed and called Darling “stable, professional and grounded.”
“He knows what he has to do,” said Thomas. “He’s the kind of candidate who stays an hour after an event is over to shake everyone’s hand.”
Catriona Lander, meanwhile, said she met Darling at meet-and-greet at his home, where Christy Clark showed up.
“I’m absolutely staunchly non-NDP. … I really like what the Liberals have done, how the province is in such good shape,” she said.
NDP candidate Katrina Chen was leading in Lougheed with 46% of the vote over Darling's 39% with 22 of 84 polls reporting at 9:25 p.m.
UPDATE: Burnaby-Edmonds
At 8:45, Raj Chouhan (incumbent for Burnaby-Edmonds) is still the only candidate to arrive.
"I'm feeling very optimistic, I'm feeling good," says the clearly popular MLA, greeting supporters and accepting hugs as the evening progresses.
Chouhan says his team was out getting out the vote until 7:45 p.m., and now it's over to the voters' choices.
"I have never taken any election for granted in my life," he said. "You always think you're behind."
He says he's feeling very good about his choices and those of his three colleagues, Janet Routledge, Anne Kang and Katrina Chen (none of whom have arrived yet).
Current numbers show him up 151 to 78, with early polling.
