National

B.C. election: NDP takes lead in key riding, putting Eby on track for majority

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 28 Oct, 2024 12:20 PM

The NDP has overtaken the B.C. Conservatives in the ongoing count of absentee votes in a crucial Metro Vancouver riding, putting Premier David Eby on course to win government with a razor-thin majority.

Final count continues today. We have updated results on our website and will update results hourly until final count is complete. Find the updates here: https://t.co/m9nVXkpnMa
— Elections BC (@ElectionsBC) October 28, 2024

The NDP now leads Surrey-Guildford by 14 votes and if it hangs on there and in other races, it would have a one-seat majority in the 93-riding legislature.

Elections BC officials are counting more than 22,000 absentee and special ballots provincewide today, nine days after the province’s election.

We knew this was going to be a close election, but we’ve been here before. BCers support our fair election process and the people at Elections BC making sure every vote gets counted.

Thanks to candidates, volunteers & election workers who make democracy work.
— David Eby (@Dave_Eby) October 27, 2024

The Conservatives had been ahead in the closest race of Surrey-Guildford by 12 votes going into the tally, but there were an estimated 226 votes still to count and each hourly update saw that lead whittled away.

Our movement is only beginning. #bcpoli https://t.co/y8yOGNwS1m pic.twitter.com/svFI9XeUYU
— Conservative Party of BC (@Conservative_BC) October 27, 2024

In a noon update by the elections authority, the NDP was elected or leading in 47 seats, while John Rustad’s B.C. Conservatives were leading or elected in 44 and the Greens had won two seats.

A count of more than 43,000 mail-in and assisted telephone votes over the weekend put the NDP within range of victory in Surrey-Guildford, sending the race down to the absentee ballots.

While today’s absentee vote could finally produce a winner in the election, there could still be judicial recounts in any riding where the margin is less than 1/500th of all votes cast.

In Surrey-Guildford, where an estimated 19,306 votes were cast, the margin for a judicial recount is about 38 votes or fewer.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

The costs of a Metro Vancouver SkyTrain extension jump by $1.9B and it's a year late

The total cost of building the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension in Metro Vancouver has soared by $2 billion and the project has been delayed for a year. The Transportation Ministry says in a statement the budget of the 16-kilometre extension of the SkyTrain into Langley is now estimated at $5.996 billion, up from the original $4 billion projected.

The costs of a Metro Vancouver SkyTrain extension jump by $1.9B and it's a year late

Cause of Vancouver fire unknown

Officials say they'll never know the cause of a massive fire earlier this summer that started a warehouse and then burned a wooden trestle in Metro Vancouver. The fire sent black smoke billowing across the region, prompting an air quality advisory and the temporary closure of a bridge between Vancouver and Richmond.

Cause of Vancouver fire unknown

Bloc leader says he is shocked by millions in 'juicy' bonuses awarded to CBC execs

The $18.4 million CBC/Radio-Canada awarded in bonuses to its employees this year is shocking, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said. He also said bonuses at the public broadcaster aren't justified because a government-owned corporation doesn't face competition like in the private sector.

Bloc leader says he is shocked by millions in 'juicy' bonuses awarded to CBC execs

Tenant advocate decries 'troubling' ruling that let landlord hike rent by 27 per cent

The landlord company successfully argued that financial losses caused by the interest rate hikes were not foreseeable "under reasonable circumstances," and it should be allowed to increase rent beyond the 3.5 per cent limit set by the province for this year.

Tenant advocate decries 'troubling' ruling that let landlord hike rent by 27 per cent

Canada lists old NYC residence for $13M, surpassing cost of new luxury condo

Canada is selling its former Manhattan residence, which used to house its consulate general in New York. Global Affairs Canada says the five-bedroom condo was listed today at over $13 million, which is expected to exceed the purchase price of its new $9 million condo located on a Manhattan street known as Billionaires' Row.

Canada lists old NYC residence for $13M, surpassing cost of new luxury condo

B.C. police watchdog says officer in Gastown shooting may have committed offence

British Columbia's police watchdog says a Metro Vancouver Transit Police officer involved in a shooting in Vancouver's Gastown neighbourhood in 2022 may have committed an offence and has asked prosecutors to consider charges. The Independent Investigations Office says there are "reasonable grounds" to believe the officer may have broken the law in relation to use of a firearm.