In this two-photograph panel, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad and B.C. NDP Leader David Eby pause while addressing supporters on election night, in Vancouver, on Saturday, Oct. 19.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
The BC NDP is within striking distance of a majority government after Elections BC began its final count of mail-in ballots on Saturday.
Early numbers show the party has widened its lead in two ridings held by razor-thin margins and is just a dozen votes from overtaking the Conservatives in another.
The results of the new ballot counts, which were not tabulated on election night last Saturday, are crucial to a race that ended on a knife edge, with the NDP leading in 46 seats to the Conservatives’ 45, and the Greens holding the balance of power with two. In the B.C. Legislature, 47 seats are needed to form a majority government.
In the riding of Juan de Fuca-Malahat, NDP candidate Dana Lajeunesse now leads Conservative Marina Sapozhnikov by 106 votes, up from 23 after the initial count, according to an update Saturday from Elections BC. In Surrey City Centre, NDP candidate Amna Shah is ahead of Conservative candidate Zeeshan Wahla by 178 votes, up from 93.
The two ridings are scheduled to have automatic recounts beginning Sunday because there were fewer than 100 votes between the two candidates after election night last Saturday. As well, there are at least 185 and 175 absentee and special ballots to be counted in Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre, respectively, on Monday.
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Meanwhile, in Surrey-Guildford, Conservative candidate Honveer Singh Randhawa’s lead over NDP candidate Garry Begg has fallen to just 12 votes, down from 103 after the initial count. There remain 226 absentee and special ballots to be counted in this electoral district on Monday.
About 66,000 mail-in and absentee ballots are being counted this weekend as part of Elections BC’s final count. The final count and recounts continue Sunday, with final results expected on Monday.
If the difference between the top two candidates in an electoral district after the conclusion of final count is less than 1/500th of the total ballots considered, there will be an automatic judicial recount in that district.
On Friday, the Vancouver Sun published a recording in which a person it identifies as Ms. Sapozhnikov, the Conservative candidate for Juan de Fuca-Malahat, calls First Nations people “savages” and said “90 per cent of Indigenous people use drugs.” The newspaper says the comments came during an election-night conversation with a journalism student.
Peter Milobar, the Conservative candidate in Kamloops Centre, issued a post on the social media platform X saying he was “outraged” and “filled with sadness” over Ms. Sapozhnikov’s alleged comments, which he called “reprehensible.”
Ms. Sapozhnikov did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
Conservative Leader John Rustad issued a statement Saturday saying he was “appalled and deeply saddened” by the comments.
“Her words are not only inaccurate but profoundly harmful, painting a distorted picture of the communities I have worked alongside for many years,” the statement read.
Mr. Rustad said the party is taking the matter seriously but made no indication that he would remove Ms. Sapozhnikov from the party.
With a report from The Canadian Press
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story referred to Peter Milobar as the Conservative candidate in Kelowna Centre. He is actually the Conservative candidate in Kamloops Centre. This version has been corrected.