The long road to a result in British Columbia's provincial election

The election to form British Columbia’s next government came down to just a handful of votes. The NDP has secured enough seats to form a government, even if the margin is razor thin.

Without a clear winner on election night, the results of a handful of undecided votes came down to the final count of absentee ballots on Monday.

Even as the counting of absentee ballots comes to an end, there may still be more to count. District polling places must request a judicial recount by a BC Supreme Court judge if the difference between the first two candidates is less than 1/500th of the total votes considered.

Here’s a timeline of key moments:

October 10-16 – Hundreds of polling stations have opened across the province and a record number of British Columbians are coming out to cast their votes ahead of the Oct. 19 election day.

Elections BC says 1,001,331 people cast ballots during the advance voting period, the most ever in BC elections.

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October 19 – British Columbia’s election day falls in the middle of an atmospheric river that soaks much of the coast, killing three people, two in a washout and another when her home was swept away by a landslide.

By the end of the evening, David Eby’s New Democrats had been elected or led in 46 ridings, John Rustad’s BC Conservatives in 45, and the Greens, led by Sonia Furstenau, had won two ridings. No party reached the 47 seats needed for a majority and a handful of votes were too close to call.

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October 20 — Elections BC estimates that approximately 49,000 uncounted absentee and mail-in ballots will be included in the final count.

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October 24 — After screening votes, Elections BC increases the number of uncounted mail-in and absentee ballots to approximately 65,000.

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October 25 – Elections BC releases figures showing where 43,538 mail-in and telephone support votes remain to be counted, along with 22,536 special and absentee ballots.

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October 26 — Counting of mail-in ballots begins. No riders are changing hands, but the NDP increases its lead in close races and dramatically reduces the Conservative lead in Surrey-Guildford from 103 to just 12 votes.

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October 27 – Mail-in ballots continue to ramp up, with the overall race still too close to call. Recounts begin in Juan de Fuca-Malahat, downtown Surrey and downtown Kelowna. The recount in Surrey city center has the effect of reducing the NDP lead from 178 to 175 votes.

A partial recount of ballots passed through one tabulator at Kelowna Center gives the Conservatives a 68-vote lead.

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October 28 – Each precinct in the county will conduct the final count of more than 22,000 absentee and special ballots beginning at 9 a.m. The NDP is racking up victories in close races, giving it a total of at least 46 votes, as it leads the BC Conservatives in Surrey-Guildford. with a handful of votes. Eby meets with Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin, who asks him to form a government.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2024

The Canadian Press

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