A filmmaker whose dad was an NDP MP will become the second member of the federal Green caucus.

With 140 of 254 polls counted, Paul Manly has 38.2 percent of the votes in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith by-election.

"This is incredible," Manly said to loud applause at the Green party election party. "Thank you all."

He said it was an honour to serve the communities in the riding and he was going to work hard. And he pledged to work across party lines to get things done.

"We know that there's a lot of problems that we face," Manly said. "We presented a lot of solutions—how we can change the economy.

"We are working to protect the environment that we need for our health, for our children, for our grandchildren, [and] how we can do a better job of taking care of people—those who are less fortunate."

Manly is also a hardliner when it comes to addressing climate change.

"We've moved beyond the horse and buggy and it's time to move beyond the internal combustion engine," he said in his acceptance speech. 

In second place is Conservative Paul Hirst at 24.4 percent, followed by New Democrat Bob Chamberlin at 22.5 percent, and Liberal Michelle Cornfield at 11 percent.

It was Manly's second attempt in the riding after he lost to New Democrat Sheila Malcolmson in 2015.

Manly is on the left side of the Green Party of Canada. In the past, he's produced videos about the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, the Security Prosperity Partnership, and community watersheds.

He was able to appeal to disaffected New Democrats who disagreed with the provincial government's significant subsidies for LNG Canada.

The leader of the federal NDP, Jagmeet Singh, has supported John Horgan's inducements to the LNG industry and his support for fracking natural gas in B.C.

This created an opening for Manly and Green Leader Elizabeth May.

Manly used to be a member of the NDP but left the party before the last federal election. His father, Jim, was the NDP MP for Cowichan–Malahat–The Islands from 1980 to 1988.

The Greens were also able to attract votes from disaffected Liberals, who disliked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's meddling in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.