New Democrat Alistair MacGregor, 42, appeared to be on his way to a third term on Monday night.
Preliminary results had the incumbent almost 8,000 votes ahead of Conservative Alana DeLong on Monday night.
About 7,200 mail-in ballots have yet to be counted in the riding. Those will be opened Tuesday and verified before being counted.
MacGregor, first elected in 2015, previously worked for Jean Crowder, who was MP for the old Nanaimo-Cowichan riding.
Conservative candidate Alana DeLong said it was disappointing to be trailing Monday night but congratulated MacGregor on his win.
鈥淚 really did expect to be able to win,鈥� said DeLong. 鈥淏ut you know, he鈥檚 been in there now for six years [and] it鈥檚 not straightforward to knock off an incumbent.鈥�
DeLong said it was a 鈥渇antastic campaign鈥� and she and her volunteers knocked on more than 10,000 doors and with that made a meaningful connection with many people, especially those in lower income brackets and also those for whom housing is unaffordable.
鈥淚 have no idea how the Liberals won [the most seats], I have no idea,鈥� said DeLong, adding the Conservatives had a solid plan. 鈥淲e came up with a plan that was actually do-able and it鈥檚 really disappointing it didn鈥檛 win.鈥�
