Skip to main content

Judicial recount for Surrey-Guildford confirms B.C. NDP's majority

Share

The British Columbia New Democrats have a majority government of 47 seats after a recount in the riding of Surrey-Guildford concluded with the party's candidate 22 votes ahead of his provincial Conservative rival.

Confirmation of victory for Premier David Eby’s party comes nearly three weeks after election night when no majority could be declared.

Garry Begg of the NDP had gone into the full hand recount on Thursday with a 27-vote lead, although British Columbia's chief electoral officer had said on Tuesday there were 28 unreported votes and those had reduced the margin to 21.

The recount overseen by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kevin Loo has ended with Begg at 8,947 votes and the B.C. Conservatives' Honveer Singh Randhawa on 8,925.

A separate partial recount in Prince George-Mackenzie to tally 861 votes from an uncounted ballot box is also complete, confirming B.C. Conservative Kiel Giddens' victory by more than 6,000 votes.

The final recount in Kelowna Centre was the last to be reported, confirming B.C. Conservative Kristina Loewen is elected by just 40 votes over the New Democrats.

The Election Act says the deadline to appeal results after a judicial recount must be filed with the court within two days after they are declared, but Andrew Watson with Elections BC said that due to Remembrance Day on Monday, that period ends at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

The recount results confirm that the NDP will have 47 seats and the Conservatives 44, while the Greens have two seats in the 93-riding legislature.

Eby has said his new cabinet will be sworn in on Nov. 18.

The expected 44 members of the Opposition caucus and two members from the B.C. Greens to be sworn in Nov. 12, while the New Democrat members of the legislature will be sworn in the next day.

A count of absentee and mail-in ballots completed nine days after the Oct. 19 election gave Eby’s party the barest majority in the 93-seat legislature, pending the recounts.

On the day after that count, Eby said he heard the message from voters in the very tight election and promised to do better "on issues, including public safety and affordability."

He said he recognized that his government needed to work with the Conservatives and the Greens on different initiatives “to make sure we're responding to the message."

While recounts aren't uncommon in B.C. elections, result changes because of them are rare, with only one race overturned in the province in at least the past 20 years.

That was when Independent Vicki Huntington went from trailing by two votes in Delta South to winning by 32 in a 2009 judicial recount.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024. 

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A police photographer recounts the harrowing day of the Polytechnique massacre

Montreal crime scene photographer Harold Rosenberg witnessed a lot of horror over his thirty years on the job, though nothing of the magnitude of what he captured with his lens at the Polytechnique on December 6, 1989. He described the day of the Montreal massacre to CTV Quebec Bureau Chief Genevieve Beauchemin.

Northern Ontario man sentenced for killing his dog

WARNING: This article contains graphic details of animal abuse which may be upsetting to some readers. A 40-year-old northern Ontario man is avoiding prison after pleading guilty to killing his dog earlier this year.

Quebec premier wants to ban praying in public

Premier François Legault took advantage of the last day of the parliamentary session on Friday to announce to 'Islamists' that he will 'fight' for Quebec values and possibly use the notwithstanding clause to ban prayer in public places such as parks.

Stay Connected