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Barry Penner, the former cabinet minister whose retirement created the vacancy in Chilliwack-Hope.Chad Hipolito for The Globe and Mail

The talk leading into the Chilliwack-Hope by-election was about the split of the so-called free enterprise vote.

But the free-enterprise tweets? On by-election day, they remained with the Liberals.

As voters in the districts of Chilliwack-Hope and Port Moody-Coquitlam took to the polls, a final battle for ballots was waged online.

Liberal supporters were there, making use of the most popular by-election hashtags. The Conservatives? Not so much.

As @LanceShaver, a Liberal supporter, put it: "Show your support 4 free enterprise and our beautiful British Columbia by voting for @LaurieThroness in #Chilliwack #Hope Byelection #bcpoli"

Added @Emile_BC: "#Chilliwack is free enterprise country – lots of support coming out for @LaurieThroness #bcpoli #gotv #vote"

The biggest Twitter assist the B.C. Liberal Party received on by-election day was from Barry Penner, the former member of the legislative assembly for Chilliwack-Hope. Mr. Penner gave up his seat in January to return to practising law.

Hardly a Twitter stalwart – he had tweeted about 40 times before Thursday – Mr. Penner used his account to show his support for the party he represented since 1996, a party that has been sinking in the polls of late.

@BarryPenner1: "Voters in Chilliwack-Hope are hiring a representative today. Most qualified person for the job is Laurie Throness. He has my vote. #bcpoli"

Of course, there were some B.C. Conservative supporters letting their voices be heard in the Twitterverse. Just not quite as many as the Liberals, and they didn't appear as organized.

@5haneKennedy heralded the rise of the Conservatives, writing: "Vote today for real change in #portmoody #coquitlam – a three party system is what we need."

The New Democrats also flexed their online muscle. NDP supporters offered other party members rides to the polls, and raved about the orange wave.

For all the last-minute campaigning, there were non-partisan tweets urging people to vote – regardless of who it was for.

@rvgenaille: "Hey Chilliwack-Hope! Don't forget to vote!"

@DogBoyBlue: "Hoping all those exercising their right to vote in PoMoCo and Chilliwack-Hope stretch first. Don't want to pull your voting muscle. #bcpoli"

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