Polls open as B.C. Liberal leader seeks seat in byelection

Voters in an upscale Vancouver neighbourhood are headed to the polls Saturday in a byelection that could put the new leader of the British Columbia Liberals back in the province's legislature.

Kevin Falcon, a former cabinet minister who took the helm of the Opposition party in February, is hoping to represent Vancouver-Quilchena in Victoria.

Former Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson, who won the riding with 56 per cent of the vote in 2020, resigned the seat to clear a way for Falcon to sit in the legislature.

NDP candidate Jeanette Ashe, a political scientist who's married to Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart, says her campaign has focused on reminding voters that Falcon was a minister when the government made deep spending cuts that still affect the province.

Three other candidates are also running in today's byelection: Wendy Hayko of the B.C. Green Party, Dallas Brodie for the Conservatives and Libertarian Sandra Filosof-Schipper.

Elections BC says preliminary results should come in shortly after the polls close at 8 p.m. because electronic tabulators are being used to count the ballots for the first time in a B.C. provincial election.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2022.