In this two-photograph panel; B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad, left, and B.C. NDP Leader David Eby, right, pause while addressing supporters on election night, in Vancouver, on Saturday, October 19, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns, Darryl Dyck
VICTORIA – The resumption of counting in last week’s nail-biting British Columbia election has seen the NDP widen its lead in two crucial races and move within 14 votes of the B.C. Conservatives in another.
No leads have changed in nine races that are too close to call, and the update provided by Elections BC increases the prospect of an NDP government.
The Conservatives had been hoping to flip NDP leads in Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre, the two closest races after the initial count ended last Sunday, but instead the ongoing tally of mail-in votes saw the NDP pull ahead.
The NDP now leads in Juan de Fuca-Malahat by 106 votes, up from 23, while the party’s candidate leads in Surrey City Centre by 162 votes, up from 93.
In Surrey Guildford, where the B.C. Conservatives had held a 103-vote lead, the NDP has moved within 14 votes with more than 200 left to count.
The initial tally after the Oct. 19 election ended with neither David Eby’s NDP nor John Rustad’s B.C. Conservatives securing the 47 ridings needed to form a majority in the 93-seat legislature.
The NDP is elected or leading in 46 seats and the Conservatives in 45, while the Greens could hold the balance of power after winning two seats.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said there were more than 66,000 mail-in ballots to be counted from Saturday. In fact, there were more than 43,000, plus more than 22,000 absentee ballots. A previous version also reported the B.C. Conservatives ended the initial count leading in six too-close-to-call races and the NDP in three. In fact, the Conservatives led five and the NDP four.
