Ultimately, it was the right call. But the folks at the big networks who make those calls probably made this one a wee bit early.
When incumbent Richard Cannings accepted congratulations from nearest rival Helena Konanz Monday night and strode triumphantly into a throng of well-wishers at the Lakeside Resort's Salon A, in precisely the same spot as the Jagmeet Singh love-in two days earlier, he was up by more than six percentage points.
Yet by the time the hugs and the speeches were done an hour or so later, his lead had narrowed significantly - to a mere one percent. And ever so slowly some of the faithful shuffled back to the video screen, not quite sure what they were seeing.
Ultimately, Cannings would cling to that slim margin and win his second consecutive term as MP for South Okanagan--West Kootenay, though the late-evening swing likely caused a few heart palpitations along the way.
Yet what in the end was a great night for Cannings wasn't nearly so great nationally for his New Democratic Party.
Despite all the recent fervour surrounding charismatic new leader Singh, the NDP's early campaign frailties would come back to haunt them. Cannings was one of the few bright spots on a night where the party would drop from 39 to 24 seats.
Cannings, in typically humble Cannings fashion, would spend most of his time at the podium thanking everyone he could think of. And in a media scrum beforehand, he freely admitted he'd been nervous.
"Of course. Before the results started coming in, there were butterflies. It's one of those things where you work for months and it comes down to the one day.
"We really didn't know what was going to happen. We were cautiously optimistic, but it's a very good feeling to be here tonight."
And he did his best to put a positive spin on the national NDP performance.
"Naturally we would have liked to have twice as many seats. But we're in a good position to carry out our commitment to Canadians, on affordable housing, on PharmaCare, on climate action.
"We're obviously in a minority government situation and I think we hold a good position in that parliament. It should be an interesting parliament coming up."
As to the local front, Cannings said South Okanagan--West Kootenay constituents understood the message he'd been conveying.
"I think we had a positive message. We talked to people in the riding on things that they cared about."
"People are concerned about expanded heath care here. They know it's unfair that many people can't afford their medications, can't afford to see a dentist. Those are the kinds of things we wanted to put to Canadians, and that really resonated."
Meanwhile over at the Penticton Golf and Country Club, city councilor turned federal candidate Konanz was generally stoic about the narrow defeat.
"We knocked on over 40,000 doors and we knew we had to do that in order to win. But it just wasn't enough. I'm not sure why. We'll have to assess that in the next couple weeks to see what we could have done."
"But the people spoke and wanted Richard Cannings back again. He cares as well about the community, and the people wanted the same thing they had in the past four years."
Konanz wouldn't rule out running again in the future, and said the experience wasn't what she'd imagined.
"I went from seven years on city council to working for the last year on running for Member of Parliament. It was different than I thought it was going to be."
"It ended up being a huge team project. And it showed me how much pride people have in community here and how much they care for Canada. It was a fantastic journey."
Liberal candidate Connie Denesiuk, who finished the night well back in third place and watched the results with her team at her Main Street campaign office, pointed to the national results, in which her Liberal Party will form a minority government.
"Canadians chose to re-elect a Liberal government that will take them forward rather than backwards. That result means a lot to me because I care a great deal about Canadians and about investing in Canada and about a positive future that includes action on climate change.
"The potential was American style politics through Andrew Scheer, and the cuts that would be represented by a Conservative government. So we are absolutely buoyed by the fact that we can look forward to four more years."
Denesiuk also wouldn't speculate about running again, but was proud of her style of campaign this go around.
"It's been an interesting race locally. I'm very proud of our team. We ran a positive campaign, and we kept our dialogue and literature positive. I believe my message elevated the conversation to a level that wasn't all about ideology or emotion, but rather about evidence and science."
Green Party candidate Tara Howse spent election night in Rossland, and this morning was both congratulatory and defiant.
"Congratulations to Richard. We've all been running a long and hard campaign, and I congratulate the other candidates as well. It's a big commitment for all of us to do this."
"I am disappointed with the results. I had truly hoped that people would get over their fear-based voting and come Green. But I hope Richard and the three Green MPs can hold the parties to their promises, and that's addressing the climate crisis and fossil fuel subsidies."
Howze said she's committed to running again, and feels that the Green Party has had impact far beyond its number of seats.
"We can see that every party now has climate change platforms. I might not agree with all of them, but they all have one, and that's demonstrative of the power and the pressure of the Green Party."
Throughout Monday evening, we consistently encountered passionate voters.
Cannings supporter Doreen Olson didn't mince words. "He's clearly the best candidate in my opinion for this position. I don't know anybody who has the integrity in politics as Dick has shown. He's done a terrific job in his first term."
"I'm in favor of the national park (proposed for the south Okanagan). We've been working since 2002 to get it established. And one of the first things Richard did as a biologist was to write a study as to why that area should be protected. In 1972 I believe. It's a very precious area."
Lynn Kelsey said she'd been on the Cannings team since his first run. "I believe very strongly in NDP values, and I believe very strongly in Richard. He's a man of great integrity and he won't go into nasty politicking."
"But it's his ability to really eloquent speak in terms of protecting the environment. He's a scientist who can speak to the people."
Helena Konanz supporter David Pacey was driven primarily by his disdain for the current Liberal government.
"When I look at the unmitigated disaster of the last four years under Trudeau, it scares me. it truly scares me."
"The SNC-Lavalin thing scares the hell out of me. I don't think people recognize the significance of what he was doing there. When I see the destruction of jobs in the oil industry, that scares me too because that's how we pay for our social programs."
As Cannings said, it'll be an interesting parliament coming up.
