Final count begins in razor-thin provincial election in British Columbia

VICTORIA — British Columbians are awaiting the final tally of last week’s razor-thin provincial election, with several ridings that could determine the next government still hanging in the balance.

Election BC says counting of the more than 43,000 mail-in ballots gets underway today and is expected to be completed Sunday.

Meanwhile, the elections authority will also conduct full recounts beginning on Sunday in two tightly contested ridings — Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre — where the margin of victory in the initial tally was less than 100 votes.

There will also be a partial hand recount in Kelowna Centre due to a transcription error involving one tabulator used in the riding.

The final tally will then be completed on Monday with the counting of more than 22,000 absentee ballots, with results updated on Election BC’s website hourly that day.

The stakes of the ongoing tally are high — after the initial tally, the NDP is elected or leading in 46 seats, the Conservatives in 45 and the Greens have won two.

But among those are nine ridings that are considered too-close to call, five led by the Conservatives and four by the NDP.

Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre are both currently led by NDP candidates, but the margin for the former after the initial count ended last Sunday was only 23 votes while the latter had a margin of 93 votes.

There are 681 ballots still to be counted in Juan de Fuca-Malahat and 476 in Surrey City Centre.

The B.C. Conservatives can win the narrowest of majorities of 47 seats by flipping both seats and maintaining their leads in other ridings.

The NDP, meanwhile, could be in a position to form a minority government if they keep their leads in one or both of Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre while maintaining all other leads.

But they would need Green support.

The Greens could also form a minority government with the Conservatives, but there is a significant ideological gap between the two parties.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2024.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press