Provincial newbies Jenn McGinn and Spencer Herbert will head to Victoria, bolstering the NDP's presence there to 34 of 79 seats. The ruling B.C. Liberals hold steady with 45.

New Democrat Spencer Herbert, a former COPE park board commissioner, beat B.C. Liberal Arthur Griffiths in the formerly Liberal riding of Vancouver-Burrard by roughly 700 votes.

And the NDP's Jenn McGinn lead B.C. Liberal rival Margaret McDiarmid in Vancouver-Fairview with about 4,600 votes to McDiarmid's 4,000.

Elections B.C. officials said voter turnout was close to 20 per cent.

The Vancouver-Burrard riding was vacated after veteran B.C. Liberal MLA Lorne Mayencourt made his unsuccessful attempt to run for federal office. The Vancouver-Fairview byelection was necessitated after former NDP MLA Gregor Robertson jumped into the race to be Vancouver's mayor.

Irwin Loy reports for Vancouver's 24 hours.