Good morning.
Among the many, many lessons this very chaotic election in B.C. has taught us is the power ordinary people wield when they vote.
Elections BC began the weekend counting some 66,074 mail-in, absentee and special ballots that were not included in the initial count on election night Oct. 19.
After election night, the results had the NDP with 46 seats, the Conservatives with 45 and the Greens with 2.
By the end of the final tally Monday, the NDP had captured an extra seat, leaving it with the barest of a majority government with 47 seats, to the Conservatives’ 44. The Greens stayed put at 2.
When the formal counting of the extra ballots began on Saturday, the ridings to watch were Surrey City Centre and Juan de Fuca-Malahat on Vancouver Island. Both were held by the NDP after election night, but by tiny majorities: 93 and 23 votes respectively. A flip in either seat could lead to a tie in the legislature. A flip in both would mean a Conservative government.
Because the margin of victory on election night was less than 100, both ridings were subject to an automatic recount. By the end of the weekend, the knife-edge the NDP was clinging to in both ridings had become comfortable leads and by the end of the final count, the NDP held Surrey City Centre with 236 more votes than the Conservatives and Juan de Fuca-Malahat with 141.
But as the counting continued, drama emerged in two new ridings. The Conservatives had ended election night in Surrey Guildford with a 103 votes over the NDP incumbent. By the end of counting Monday, the NDP had taken the seat, but by only 27 votes.
The win, if it holds, gives the NDP 47 seats, the barest of majority governments.
In Kelowna Centre, the Conservatives had a 148 lead after election night. That shrunk to just 38 by the time the final count was done Monday evening.
The margins in Surrey Guildford and Kelowna Centre will trigger an automatic judicial recount, but it could take two weeks or so for that process to be finished.
Judicial recounts have failed to overturn any riding results in the past four elections, only ever affecting the margin of victory for the winner named in the final count, according to official data.
In the meantime, British Columbians now know for certain that they have an NDP government for the next four years, whether it’s a majority or not.
Despite conspiracy theories swirling on social media with some calling into question the legitimacy of the vote, the Conservatives firmly rejected going down a road so well travelled in the United States. Aisha Estey, president of the Conservative Party of BC, posted on social media Sunday evening that she had spent the previous two days in a warehouse watching the transcription and counting of mail-in ballots.
“Elections BC staff have been working tirelessly and doing their best within the confines of the legislation that governs their work,” she wrote on X. “Would we have liked mail-in ballots to be counted closer to E-day? Sure. But I saw nothing that caused me concern.”
BC Conservative Leader John Rustad issued a statement at the close of counting Monday conceding defeat to NDP Leader David Eby and congratulating Conservative voters for taking the party from two per cent in the polls 18 months ago to coming within a whisper of forming government.
Mr. Eby promised to work to fulfill his campaign promises.
“After a close and hard-fought campaign, it’s now time to come together to deliver for people,” he said in a statement.
The final count results also dealt a blow to the Green party. They maintained the two seats they won on election night, but an NDP majority, even with just one seat, diminishes the bargaining clout the Greens could have to influence the government’s agenda.
In a statement released Monday, Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau, who lost her own seat, called for inter-party collaboration.
“This outcome follows a very negative, polarizing election,” the statement read. “It’s clear that British Columbians are demanding better outcomes from their government.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the Conservatives had captured 45 seats. The party won 44 seats. This version has been updated.
This is the weekly British Columbia newsletter written by B.C. Editor Wendy Cox. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.