Elections B.C.'s final count of mail-in and absentee ballots has brought more good news to Premier John Horgan.

It confirmed that New Democrat Kelli Paddon has defeated incumbent Laurie Throness in Chilliwack-Kent.

Paddon is the provincial manager of policy and government relations with Community Living B.C.

Throness, a social conservative who described birth control as "eugenics", ran as an independent after resigning from the B.C. Liberals mid-campaign.

Another New Democrat, Mission mayor Pam Alexis, defeated B.C. Liberal incumbent Simon Gibson in Abbotsford-Mission.

In Richmond South Centre, community activist Henry Yao defeated Richmond councillor and former Olympian Alexa Loo, who was making her first attempt at provincial politics.

After being sworn in, Yao will become the fourth member of the B.C. NDP with Taiwanese heritage.

And in nearby Richmond-Steveston, Kelly Greene's victory over B.C. Liberal Matt Pitcairn was confirmed by a 1,435-vote margin.

On election night on October 24, it was clear that the NDP's Amandeep Singh, a multilingual lawyer, had defeated B.C. Liberal incumbent Jas Johal.

This means that the NDP now holds three of the four seats in Richmond, which used to be a B.C. Liberal fortress.

The final votes are still being counted. As of 12:33 p.m. on November 8, the B.C. NDP has 47.63 percent of the popular vote, setting a party record.

Support for the B.C. Liberals is at 33.81 percent and the Greens are at 15.09 percent.

The final seat count, barring a change in a judicial recount in West Vancouver–Sea to Sky, is 57 for the NDP, 28 for the B.C. Liberals, and two for the B.C. Greens. 

Premier John Horgan issued a statement saying he's "humbled and honoured" by the support for the B.C. NDP team.

“Thank you Elections BC staff and volunteers for making voting easy and safe for everyone," Horgan said. "Thanks to everyone who put their names forward as candidates. 

“COVID-19 is presenting us with new challenges each day, and we need to keep the focus where it belongs: keeping ourselves, our families and our communities healthy, safe and secure. We will get through this together."