B.C. NDP majority holds with 22-vote victory in Surrey-Guildford recount

The B.C. NDP has held onto its majority following the completion of a judicial recount in the tight race in Surrey-Guildford.

Elections B.C. said in a statement Friday afternoon that after overseeing the count, Justice Kevin D. Loo of the B.C. Supreme Court has declared Garry Begg elected, receiving 8,947 votes compared to the Conservative candidate’s 8,925 — a difference of 22 votes.

It means Premier David Eby’s New Democrats have held onto their one-seat majority almost three weeks after the initial vote.

More than 19,000 ballots were counted as part of that process.  

WATCH | David Eby lays out plans to appeal to those who didn’t vote for him: 

B.C.’s provincial party leaders react to the final vote count. As Chad Pawson reports, leaders need to find a way to work together after a bitter, divisive and negative campaign.

A recount is also complete in the riding of Kelowna-Centre, where Conservative Kristina Loewen won by 40 votes (up from 38 prior to the recount) and in Prince George-Mackenzie, where a box containing 861 ballots was left uncounted. The B.C. Conservatives have won the riding by more than 5,000 votes.

With the recounts complete, the NDP holds on to the 47 seats required for a majority, with the Conservatives at 44 and the Greens with two seats in the 93-seat legislature.

Elections B.C. spokesman Andrew Watson says certification won’t happen until next week following an appeal period.

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

When an appeal is filed, it must be heard no later than 10 days after the registrar receives the notice of appeal.

Cabinet to be sworn in Nov. 18

With vote counting coming to a close, David Eby is focusing on who will be part of his inner circle as he forms the next government.

He says cabinet officials will be sworn in on Nov. 18, the first Monday after Remembrance Day.

Also ahead is the selection of an MLA to take on the role of Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in Victoria.

The Speaker is expected to be neutral, facilitating a fair debate and voting only to break ties. 

Usually, the role goes to a member of the party in power, but if an NDP MLA takes the position, it will effectively reduce the party’s one-seat majority.

Eby has indicated he is open to MLAs from the other two parties taking it on. However, so far, no one has taken him up on the offer.

Review of election also needed

Also ahead is a review of how votes are counted, which came under the microscope due to close races, unreported votes and the discovery of an uncounted box of ballots in Prince George-Mackenzie.

While all parties have said they have full faith in the election outcome, leaders have expressed interest in reviewing what went wrong.

British Columbia’s chief electoral officer, Anton Boegman, said the mistakes were caused by “human error” and discovered by the checks and balances already in place.

However, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad has expressed interest in an independent review, and Eby has proposed an all-party committee to study the issue.

Recounts rarely change results

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

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

Recounts can be requested after the initial count in an election for a variety of reasons, while judicial recounts are usually triggered after the so-called “final count” when the margin is less than 1/500th of the number of votes cast.

There have already been two full-hand recounts this election, in Surrey City Centre and Juan de Fuca-Malahat, and both only resulted in a difference of a few votes.

A partial recount of votes that went through one tabulator in Kelowna Centre saw the margin change by four votes, while a full judicial recount is currently underway in the same riding, narrowly won by the B.C. Conservatives.

The number of votes changing hands in recounts has generally shrunk in B.C. in recent years.

Judicial recounts in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky in 2020 and Coquitlam-Maillardville in 2013 saw margins change by 19 and six votes, respectively.

In 2005, there were a record eight recounts after the initial tally, changing margins by an average of 62 votes, while one judicial recount changed the margin in Vancouver-Burrard by seven.