British Columbia’s Conservative Party has secured another seat following the final count of ballots in the province’s October election. However, extremely narrow margins in two electoral districts have triggered mandatory judicial recounts, leaving some election results subject to further legal review.
According to the final results, Conservative candidate David Xie defeated incumbent NDP MLA Paul Choi in the Burnaby South-Metrotown riding.
Before the final count, Choi had been leading by 66 votes. However, after approximately 150,000 mail-in, telephone and absentee ballots were counted, Xie emerged victorious with a margin of 64 votes. An automatic recount was also conducted in the riding because of the narrow difference.
In the Ladysmith-Oceanside riding, incumbent NDP MLA Stephanie Higginson defeated Conservative candidate Chris McNicholl by just 50 votes.
An automatic recount was conducted there as well because of the close initial results. However, the final margin remained narrow enough to require a judicial recount, which will be supervised by a Supreme Court judge.
Judicial Recount Also Possible in Kelowna Centre
A judicial recount is also expected in the Kelowna Centre riding, where Conservative candidate Kristina Loewen defeated NDP candidate Lyle Woldridge by only 43 votes.
Interestingly, this is the second consecutive election in which the Kelowna Centre riding has required a judicial recount to confirm its result.
During the 2024 provincial election, Loewen’s victory over Woldridge was also upheld following a judicial recount.
Conservatives Maintain Majority in British Columbia Legislature
According to the final count, the British Columbia Legislative Assembly will have the following party composition:
- Conservative Party: 64 seats
- New Democratic Party (NDP): 27 seats
- Green Party: 2 seats
In terms of the overall popular vote, the Conservatives secured 47.4 per cent, while the NDP received 37.6 per cent and the Green Party obtained 11.2 per cent.
Judicial Recounts Rarely Change Election Outcomes
Changes in election results following judicial recounts are extremely uncommon in British Columbia. However, such an occurrence has happened before.
In the 2009 provincial election, independent candidate Vicki Huntington initially trailed by two votes in the Delta South riding. Following a recount, she was declared the winner by a margin of 32 votes.
The latest developments highlight how even a handful of ballots can make a decisive difference in closely contested provincial elections, with judicial recounts playing an important role in ensuring the accuracy and credibility of the final results.
