In a provincial election unlike any other, the New Democratic Party of British Columbia was asked to form government on Monday, more than a week after the polls closed.
According to Elections BC, NDP Leader David Eby led the party to win 47 seats.
Eby met with British Columbia’s Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin Monday to accept his position as premier-elect and will hold a press conference on Tuesday at 11 a.m.
However, Elections B.C. says two ridings — Surrey-Guildford and Kelowna Centre — will hold automatic judicial recounts as the margin of victory is less than 1/500th of the total number of votes cast.
Eby released a statement Monday afternoon saying it is an “incredible honour” for the NDP to be elected for the third time.
“People want their elected representatives to deliver results. With renewed determination, we will build on the progress we’ve made to reduce daily costs like car insurance and childcare, hire thousands of health care workers and get you a family doctor, deliver homes you can afford, and make sure our economy works for everyone–not just those at the top. There is so much more work to do to lighten the load for people,” Eby said in a statement.
B.C. Lt. Gov. Janet Austin also published a statement via X announcing Eby’s win.
“As Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, I have spoken with Premier David Eby, who has advised me that he is prepared to continue as Premier of British Columbia,” she said.
BC Conservatives Leader John Rustad took to social media Monday evening, acknowledging that his party would not form the province’s next government.
“We have made history in BC. Just 18 months ago, the Conservative Party of BC was at 2% in the polls, had no members, no money, no team,” he shared. “But what we did have was grit, determination and a massive grassroots movement that would make the impossible happen. I am immensely proud to lead a party that went from zero seats to 44 and almost government in just a year.”
“I accept the results of this election. I thank our Elections BC workers for their hard and dedicated work.
“While there are still judicial recounts to be completed, it’s now clear that our party will not win enough seats to form government in BC. I am ready to begin the important work of leading BC’s Official Opposition,” Rustad said.
The Oct. 19 election night ended inconclusively, with results too close to call. After over a week of recounts in ridings where the difference was within slim margins of votes, and a final count from Oct. 26 to 28, Elections BC announced the results Monday evening.
The last provincial election in 2020 saw a historic 55-seat majority win by the BC NDP and then-Premier John Horgan, who called a snap election during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After five years as B.C.’s premier and eight years as party leader, Horgan stepped down in November 2022 and later accepted a position as Canada’s ambassador to Germany.
Horgan’s departure left the premiership open, and after a race for party leadership, the MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey, David Eby, became the province’s 37th premier on Oct. 21, 2022.
In 2022, BC Liberal MLA John Rustad was removed from the opposition party caucus by then leader Kevin Falcon shortly before a rebrand saw it become BC United.
Rustad joined the BC Conservative Party and became its only representative in the provincial legislature, and he soon succeeded Trevor Bolin as the party’s leader.
When Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman crossed the floor to join Rustad later that year, the party of two achieved official party status.
2024 marked a downward spiral for BC United and Falcon as the party plummeted in the polls and several more members defected to the rising BC Conservatives.
The political landscape in B.C. changed dramatically in late August when Falcon announced the suspension of his party’s campaign and endorsed the BC Conservatives.
Some BC United Candidates were adopted by Conservatives, and some opted to run as independents.
The writ dropped officially on Sept. 21, and a fierce campaign period began.
The BC Green Party was the first to announce its “well-being” platform, with a promise of thriving people, resilient communities, a flourishing natural world, and good governance.
Next, the BC NDP released its platform, outlining an “action plan for you” that looks to address housing, affordability, and healthcare, among other items.
The BC Conservative Party waited until advance voting was underway before dropping its “common sense” platform on Oct. 15.
Their platform included tax cuts for renters and homeowners across the province, “unlocking” mining in B.C., reproductive health care changes, a plan to grow food production, and plans to address the health care crisis and mental health and addictions.
Advance voting concluded with record-breaking numbers on Wednesday, Oct. 16. The final day of voting began at 8 a.m. on Oct. 19
On election night, Rustad said his team had built the “strongest Conservative Party that this province has seen in 100 years.”
The Conservatives now hold 44 seats, with major turnover in areas that were previously held by the NDP.
Last Tuesday, Eby appeared humbled by the early results of the election and commended BC Conservatives Leader John Rustad on his “effective” campaign message on the subjects of health care and public safety.
Meanwhile, BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau lost her race for Victoria-Beacon Hill but led two Green candidates to wins — once again controlling the balance of power in the next legislature.
On Wednesday, Furstenau confirmed she would stay on as leader, adding that she spoke with Eby about collaboration but did not take a call from Rustad.
The BC Conservatives’ campaign and post-election period were marred by revelations of racist, hateful, and controversial statements made by several candidates.
“There have been statements made by Conservative candidates that are truly disturbing, racist, dehumanizing, homophobic, and conspiratorial. Some of these candidates have been elected, and I have yet to see a satisfactory response from John Rustad around this,” said Furstenau.
Over a million British Columbians turned up to advance voting. Election day was marked by record rainfall, flooding, and power outages as the first atmospheric river of the season passed over coastal B.C.
Multiple voting places — including in Langley, Kamloops, Mayne, and Denman and Hornby islands — saw closures on Saturday morning due to power outages. Elections BC says those locations reopened shortly thereafter.
Election night ended anti-climactically after a race to the top between the BC Conservatives and BC NDP was deemed too close. What followed was more than a week of accounting for roughly 65,000 mail-in and absentee ballots, three recounts, and later more recounts triggered by the tightened margins in Juan de Fuca-Malahat, Kelowna Centre, and Surrey-Centre.
On Monday, a final count of absentee ballots and mail-in ballots in the Surrey-Guildford and Kelowna Centre ridings brought an end to the election.
Looking for more coverage on the B.C. election? CityNews has everything you need to know. You can watch CityNews 24/7 live or listen live to 1130 NewsRadio Vancouver to keep up to date. You can also subscribe to breaking news alerts.
-With files from Mike Lloyd, Aastha Pandey-Kanaan, Raynaldo Suarez and The Canadian Press.