At the end of a soggy general election day, voters in 91Ô­´´-Willowbrook were set to find out who would be their new MLA.

In the end there were just under 1,000 votes separating incumbent NDP hopeful Andrew Mercier and Conservative newcomer Jody Toor.

With all 19 voting ballot boxes counted, Toor had 10,591 votes to Mercier's 9,631. 

Voters in 91Ô­´´-Willowbrook had three choices on their ballots.

Mercier of the NDP was the incumbent for the 91Ô­´´ riding before the local electoral map was re-drawn. A 91Ô­´´ City resident and labour lawyer, Mercier served in a number of junior ministries since 2020, including as Minister of State for Sustainable Forestry Innovation, Minister of State for Workforce Development, and Parliamentary Secretary for Skills Training. 

The other contender in this race was Petrina Arnason, who ran for the Green Party. A two-term councillor on 91Ô­´´ Township council from 2014 to 2022, she often raised environmental and seniors issues during her time as a local elected official, and made those keystones of her provincial campaign. At the time of release, Arnason had 1,614 of the overall votes so far.

Toor, running for the Conservatives, previously ran for office in Surrey, seeking a council seat with Jinny Sims’ Surrey Forward slate in 2022. The owner of an integrative holistic clinic, Toor was the target of an attack by NDP candidate Adrian Dix late in the campaign over her use of the title of doctor. Toor is not a medical doctor, and noted on her campaign website that she was not a member of the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Toor campaign manager Chris Logie said the candidate would likely not be doing interviews on election night.

"We're not necessarily looking to have people come by and try and interview her tonight," Logie told the 91Ô­´´ Advance Times. "But it's something that we're looking to have done after the fact."

Asked if Toor would be in 91Ô­´´ or Vancouver election night, Logie said she was "going to be kind of all over the place."

On Monday, Logie said she will wait until after the final vote count (expected to be done by Monday, Oct. 28), before making any comment about the election.

Mercier said he wished his successor well.

"I've had a good four years as an MLA for 91Ô­´´," Mercier told the 91Ô­´´ Advance Times by phone after the final results were in.

He talked about his party's accomplishments for 91Ô­´´, including the approval of the Surrey-91Ô­´´ SkyTrain line, and said he would continue to be a part of the community.

"My immediate plan is spending some time with my kids after a long campaign," said Mercier.

Plenty of 91Ô­´´ voters wanted to cast their ballots early. According to Elections BC, more than 25 per cent of registered voters cast their ballots in each of the three local ridings during advance voting days, which began on Oct. 10 and ended on Oct. 16.

In 91Ô­´´-Willowbrook, there were 11,139 early votes with 40,599 registered voters.

In 2020, 45,181 votes were cast in the old 91Ô­´´ riding, while in 91Ô­´´ East, 53,536 people voted.

91Ô­´´'s rapid population growth has meant a re-drawing of the two old 91Ô­´´ ridings into three new ones.