Negative ads had a huge effect: Ipsos-Reid E-Day poll.
from Ipsos-Reid
The reality is that one in 10 (11 percent) BC voters decided in the voting booth on election day to mark their ballot for their candidate — and with one of the lowest turnouts in provincial voting ever (52 percent) it was motivated voters, Liberals, who bested the NDP in the voting booth.
The long and the short of it was that NDP voters did not get out and fulfill their promise to vote for the party of their choice — they stayed home while Liberal voters showed up. As such, a small number of voters were able to influence the greater outcome.