Judicial recount dates set for two B.C. ridings to wrap up provincial election

VICTORIA — Vote counting in the British Columbia provincial election will finally conclude next week with judicial recounts set for two ridings.

Elections BC says the province’s Supreme Court has confirmed recounts in Kelowna Centre and Surrey-Guildford will take place on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8.

Both ridings saw the margin of victory within the threshold to trigger judicial recounts after the final tally this week of mail-in and absentee ballots from the Oct. 19 election.

The NDP candidate is leading his Conservative opponent by 27 votes in Surrey-Guildford, while the margin between the Conservative candidate in Kelowna Centre over her NDP opponent is 38 votes.

Surrey-Guildford was the only riding where the winner changed during final ballot count, giving Premier David Eby’s NDP the narrowest of majorities with 47 seats.

The B.C. Conservatives, a party that won less than two per cent of the popular vote in the last election, surged to hold 44 seats in the latest vote, while the Green Party took two seats.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2024.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press