B.C. Conservatives win Burnaby seat, majority grows to 64

The B.C. Conservatives won another seat Monday when Elections B.C. completed its final count, with candidate David Xie defeating NDP incumbent Paul Choi by 64 votes in Burnaby South-Metrotown.

The result lifts the Conservatives to 64 seats in the 93-seat legislature, compared with 27 for the NDP and two for the Greens, CBC News reported. Elections B.C. says the final count is now complete for the Oct. 24 provincial election.

The Canadian Press reported that Choi led by 66 votes heading into the final count. The riding was also subject to a recount because the initial margin was fewer than 100 votes. Officials spent the weekend counting about 150,000 mail-in, phone and absentee ballots across the province’s 93 ridings, with party scrutineers present.

Conservatives took 47.4 per cent of the popular vote, compared with 37.6 per cent for the NDP and 11.2 per cent for the Greens, The Canadian Press reported.

The only other riding that needed a recount because its margin was under 100 votes was Ladysmith-Oceanside, where NDP incumbent Stephanie Higginson held on by 50 votes over Conservative Kris McNichol. Higginson had led by just 13 votes on election night, the narrowest margin in the province.

The count is not entirely settled. Elections B.C. says two ridings meet the mandatory threshold for a judicial recount, which applies when the difference is less than 1/500 of the total ballots considered, CBC reported. Those are Ladysmith-Oceanside and Kelowna Centre, where Conservative incumbent Kristina Loewen leads the NDP’s Loyal Wooldridge by 43 votes. A judicial recount must take place between seven and 15 days after the declaration of the official results.

Because the Conservatives already held a majority, the extra seat does not change who governs. Our earlier coverage showed the party winning a majority on election night, and the NDP has since named Whiteside as interim leader. Interim Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson, who is moving the party from opposition to government, has said he sees no quick end to the U.S. trade war. We also set out what the B.C. Conservatives promised on taxes, housing and LNG.

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