UPDATE 10:25 p.m.

Dan Albas issued a brief statement on social media after being re-elected to another term as the Member of Parliament for Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola.

He thanked everyone who voted, as well as all the other candidates and volunteers.

Albas noted the results don’t always reflect the significant efforts that so many have put in over the past weeks.

I would like to take a moment to sincerely thank everyone who voted in this election. I would also like to thank all candidates and all volunteers. The results do not always reflect the significant efforts that so many have put in over these past weeks for the various parties.

— Dan Albas (@DanAlbas) September 21, 2021

He also talked about what lies ahead in Ottawa.

“We have a lot of issues facing our country right now,” said Albas in a video posted on Facebook. “There’s been a lot of divisions we need to heal, and we need to hold the government accountable for its promises.”

Second place finisher Liberal Sarah Eves congratulated Albas. She hopes he will take the concerns she heard in the riding about climate change to Ottawa.

Eves added the results show there are a lot of progressives in the riding, but they are divided.

“The work really needs to begin in the next couple of weeks and next months, working together to build that understanding and support on the progressive side so that we can get that voice heard.”

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UPDATE 9:15 p.m.

Half of the polls are now reporting.

Conservative Dan Albas, who is on his way to representing the riding again, has 16,236 votes for 45.3% of the ballots counted.

Sarah Eves, the Liberal candidate has captured 9,152 votes for 25.6%.

Close behind her is Joan Phillip of the NDP with 6,949 for 19.4% of ballots.

The PPC candidate Kathryn McDonald has grabbed 7.3% of votes and the Brennan Wauters of the Green Party has 2.4%.

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UPDATE 8:30 P.M.

The Canadian Press and CBC are declaring Conservative Dan Albas elected in Central-Okanagan-Similkameen.

With 40 of 247 polls reporting, Albas has 8,717 votes for 44.2%.

Sarah Eves is in second with 5,986 votes for 30.4%.

She is followed by the NDP’s Joan Phillip, who has garnered 16.4% support of the votes counted so far.

The PPC’s Kathryn McDonald has 1,425 votes or 7.2% and the Green’s Brennan Wauters with 1.8% or 363 votes.

More to come...

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8:00 p.m.

10 of 247 polls are now reporting, and the lead for Albas has narrowed.

The Conservative has 4,257 votes, or 41.3%.

Liberal Sarah Eves has made up some ground. She has 3,827 votes, for 37.1% of ballots counted so far.

NDP candidate Joan Phillip had garnered 13.3%, getting 1,366 votes.

The PPCs Kathryn McDonald has 717 votes and the Green’s Brenna Wauters has 149.

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UPDATE 7:45 p.m.

Conservative incumbent Dan Albas is off to a strong lead with 3 of 247 polls reporting so far.

Albas has 56.5% of votes, followed by Liberal Sarah Eves at 17%, the NDP’s Joan Phillip with 15.6%, and the People’s Party of Canada candidate Kathryn McDonald at 8.7%, followed by the Green Party’s Brennan Wauters at 1.6%.

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ORIGINAL 5 p.m.

Conservative Dan Albas is aiming for a fourth term as a member of parliament in Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola.

Voters first cast ballots in the riding in 2015 after it was redrawn from portions of the ridings of Okanagan—Coquihalla, Kelowna—Lake Country, and British Columbia Southern Interior.

Albas has championed improved interprovincial trade, specifically removing some of the barriers for wine, beer and spirits.

"When I first ran for political office I heard from all political stripes, even non-partisan people who just wanted to see a greater market for their products," said Albas.

"We know when Canadians can compete, we can do it with the best of them, so to see provincial liquor monopolies continue to push back against this movement...well over 90 per cent of the population supports this.

"We need to show them there's a government that understands their situation and wants them to grow. I want to be a Member of Parliament for this area that champions local issues and gets results."

In the 2019 election, Albas captured more than 47% of the popular vote, much higher than in 2015, when he got less than 40%. In both those years, Liberals finished second.

This time around, the Liberal candidate is elementary school teacher Sarah Eves, from Merritt.

She sees climate change as a top issue for many voters in Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola.

"They want a party that has a real plan to deal with it, partly because of all the fires, I think," said Eves.

She also believes housing affordability needs to be addressed. “It doesn't matter where you are, it's how do we work as a society to address the housing crisis that we're in. It needs a systemic approach, and not just piecemealed together."

Eves says if she doesn't win she will go back to teaching, but she will continue to try to pull together progressive support in the riding under one banner. If she does win, it's off to Ottawa.

NDP Candidate Joan Phillip is a familiar face in the region, having extensive political experience with the Penticton Indian Band and the Okanagan Nation Alliance.

Phillip says we need change.

"We've had 154 years of the same-old-same-old, and the status quo is not acceptable anymore. We deserve better.

"Particularly now with all these fires and COVID, it's more urgent that we need someone who is going to do things differently for this riding."

Phillip also called the Liberal and Conservative parties’ responses to the legacy of residential schools "criminal."

“Neither the Conservative Party or Trudeau ever darkened the doorway of Kamloops Indian Band," she said in response to the 215 bodies of children discovered on the residential school property in Kamloops.

"I believe the constituents in this riding deserve leadership that's going to fight for them, they deserve a government that's on their side. So far, the Liberals and the Conservative governments have just been pandering to the top 1 per cent.

Also running in Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola are Kathryn McDonald of the People’s Party of Canada and Brennan Wauters of the Green Party of Canada.

This story will be updated throughout the night as the results come in.