B.C. NDP lead grows in Juan de Fuca-Malahat after election recount

B.C. NDP candidate Dana Lajeunesse was still leading in the Juan de Fuca-Malahat riding following a B.C. election recount on Monday, Oc. 28, 2024. (Facebook/Dana Lajeunesse)

The last of three recounts in British Columbia's closely contested provincial election has concluded with B.C. NDP candidate Dana Lajeunesse still leading in the Juan de Fuca-Malahat riding.

The final results of the recount in the Vancouver Island riding have Lajeunesse ahead by 116 votes over B.C. Conservative contender Marina Sapozhnikov.

The NDP candidate led the Conservative candidate by just 23 votes after the initial election night count on Oct. 19. He pulled further ahead after mail-in and assisted telephone ballots were tallied over the weekend, prior to the start of the recount on Sunday.

After most mail-in and absentee ballots were counted, Lajeunesse's lead widened to 127 votes over Sapozhnikov.

Elections BC was still counting the remaining absentee ballots in the riding on Monday. The agency said it would finish counting the remaining absentee ballots in the riding before certifying the result.

A resident of Sooke, Lajeunesse was elected as a councillor in the district in 2019 and was re-elected in 2022.

Two other recounts that were completed over the weekend did not change the outcomes in those ridings either.

The B.C. NDP's Amna Shah remained in the lead in Surrey City Centre over B.C. Conservative opponent Zeeshan Wahla, while a partial recount in Kelowna Centre showed Conservative candidate Kristina Loewen leading NDP candidate Loyal Wooldridge.

Related: B.C. NDP pulls ahead in key riding that could help party clinch majority

Provincewide standings currently have the NDP leading or elected in 47 ridings, with the Conservatives leading or elected in 44 ridings and the Greens elected in two seats. A party must win 47 seats to form a majority government in B.C.'s 93-seat legislature.

Elections BC provided hourly updates Monday as it counted the more than 22,000 absentee ballots still outstanding in ridings across the province.

While the final counts should deliver a clear picture of the makeup of the B.C. legislature, provincial election rules stipulate that judicial recounts could still be ordered if the margin of victory in a riding is less than 1/500th of all votes cast.

In the Juan de Fuca-Malahat riding, where an estimated 23,875 ballots were cast, the margin for a judicial recount would be about 48 votes or less.