Christy Clark leads Liberals to upset majority in B.C.

But Liberal leader still faces tight race in her own riding of Vancouver-Point Grey

CBC News, Posted: May 14, 2013 8:03 PM PT, Last Updated: May 14, 2013 10:27 PM PT, Source

B.C. Liberal Leader Christy Clark has wonning a majority government in a stunning come-from-behind victory, CBC News is projecting. (CBC)

Premier Christy Clark will head a majority B.C. Liberal government after leading her party to a stunning come-from-behind victory in British Columbia's 40th provincial election, CBC News projects.

But Clark still faces a tough fight to hold on to her seat in Vancouver-Point Grey, where she is trailing high-profile NDP candidate David Eby by 315 votes.

With more than 80 per cent of polls reporting, and 51 Liberal candidates leading or elected in 85 ridings, Clark has pulled off one of the most remarkable comebacks in the province's history.

Heading into the 2013 election, the Liberals held 45 seats, with the opposition NDP holding 36, and four MLAs sitting as Independents.

Clark started the campaign trailing by 20 percentage points in the polls, but managed to close the gap significantly with a campaign that focused on debt reduction and economic growth.

The Liberals and their supporters also ran a slew of attack ads casting the NDP and its leader, Adrian Dix, as untrustworthy and out of control with billions of dollars in campaign promises.

Clark is expected to join the party supporters at the Wall Centre in Vancouver later tonight after the final results of the election are in.

The B.C. Liberal decade

The B.C. Liberals, who are not formally linked with the federal Liberal Party, were first elected in 2001 when Gordon Campbell led the party to the largest majority government in B.C. history, winning 77 of 79 seats.

Campbell won two more majority governments in 2005 and 2009 before stepping down following a popular revolt against the HST in 2010.

After Campbell stepped down in 2010, Clark returned to provincial politics and won the leadership of the Liberal Party in February 2011 after defeating cabinet ministers Kevin Falcon, George Abbott and Mike de Jong in the race.

She won her seat in a byelection in Vancouver-Point Grey with a narrow victory over Eby, making her the second woman to become premier of British Columbia after Rita Johnson in 1991.

But Clark was considered an outsider by the party establishment and only had the support of one sitting MLA during her leadership campaign. After she took office several cabinet ministers stepped down ahead of the 2013 election campaign.