Photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters

By Liam Verster

Provincial Election

UPDATE: NDP On track to form minority government as mail-in ballots counted

Oct 26, 2024 | 1:28 PM

— UPDATE: 4:15 p.m. Oct. 27 —

ElectionsBC is indicating that it could be an NDP minority government.

The independent, non-partisan agency counted mail-in ballots and undertook recounts over the weekend, which ended without any change to the seat distribution.

The vote count as of 4 p.m Oct 27 was as follows:

• B.C NDP – 46 seats, 933,144 votes, 44.8 per cent support
• Conservative Party of B.C. – 45 seats, 902,751 votes, 43.34 per cent support
• B.C Green Party – 2 seats, 171,384 votes, 8.23 per cent support
• Independent – 0 seats, 46,754 votes, 2.24 per cent support
• Unaffiliated – 0 seats, 25,284 votes, 1.21 per cent support
• Libertarian – 0 seats, 1,365 votes, 0.07 per cent support
• Freedom Party of B.C. – 0 seats, 1,255 votes, 0.06 per cent support
• Communist Party of B.C. – 0 seats, 632 votes, 0.03 per cent support
• Christian Heritage Party of B.C. – 0 seats, 361 seats, 0.02 pr cent support

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It takes 47 seats to form a majority government.

Locally, it appeared as though NDP candidate Harwinder Sandhu would be elected in Vernon-Lumby, while Conservative Tara Armstrong would win the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding.

Recounts and the counting of absentee ballots was scheduled for Monday, Oct. 28. Final election results will be released later that same day.

— UPDATE 1:30 p.m. Oct.27 —

The Conservative candidate for the new Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding is projected to hold a seat in the legislature.

After counting mail-in ballots, ElectionsBC data showed Tara Armstrong leading the local riding by nearly 5,000 votes.

As of 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, the local ridings, including the mail-in ballots, stood as follows:

• Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream
  • Tara Armstrong (Conservative) – 14,207 votes (54.02 per cent)
  • Anna Warwick Sears (NDP) – 9,241 (35.14 per cent)
  • Kevin Kraft (independent) – 1,716 (6.52 per cent)
  • Andrew Rose (Greens) – 1,136 (4.32 per cent)
• Vernon-Lumby
  • Harwinder Sandhu (NDP) – 11,5783 votes (42.71 per cent)
  • Dennis Giesbrecht (Conservative) – 11,294 (40.94 per cent)
  • Kevin Acton (Unaffiliated) – 4,249 (15.4 per cent)
  • Robert Johnson (Libertarian) – 262 (0.95 per cent)

As of 1 p.m. Sunday, the B.C. NDP still held the most seats, but did not have the majority. The results, accounting for mail-in ballots, at the time, were as follows:

• B.C. NDP – 46 seats, 928,623 votes, 44.75 per cent support
• Conservative Party of B.C. – 45 seats, 900,746 votes, 43.41 per cent support
• B.C. Green Party – 2 seats, 170,023 votes, 8.19 per cent support

Counting of mail-in ballots continues Sunday afternoon, as do recounts in select jurisdictions.

ElectionsBC will provide finalized election results Monday, Oct. 28.

— UPDATE 4:15 p.m. Oct.26 —

More mail-in ballots for the provincial election have been counted, including those for the local riding.

ElectionsBC’s update at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, showed that the Vernon-Lumby mail-in ballots were counted, and that the NDP Harwinder Sandhu’s lead increased with those counts.

As it stands, the vote count was as follows:

• Vernon-Lumby
  • Harwinder Sandhu (NDP) – 11,770 (42.7 per cent)
  • Dennis Giesbrecht (Conservative) – 11,283 (40.94 per cent)
  • Kevin Acton (Unaffiliated) – 4,248 (15.41 per cent)
  • Robert Johnson (Libertarian) – 262 (0.95 per cent)

The Vernon-Lumby mail-in ballots were among 30 communities that had their votes counted Saturday afternoon, including Kelowna Centre and Penticton Summerland. The mail-in ballots for the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding, where Conservative Tara Armstrong held the lead, was not counted Saturday.

In Kelowna Centre, Conservative Kristina Loewen had a slight lead with 10,950 votes compared to NDP candidate Loyal Woolridge, who had 10,878. That riding will be subject to a partial recount Sunday following a one vote discrepancy between the ballot count and the tabulator results.

In Penticton-Summerland, Conservative candidate Amelia Boultbee had a lead of 11,551 votes to the NDP’s Tina Lee, who had 11,197, following the mail-in count.

As of t 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, the B.C. NDP still held 46 seats to the Conservative Party of B.C.’s 45. The B.C. Green Party also held onto it’s two seats Saturday afternoon.

• B.C. NDP – 46 seats, 915,248 votes, 44.64 per cent support
• Conservative Party of B.C. – 45 seats, 892,427 votes, 43.53 per cent support
• B.C. Green Party – 2 seats, 167,822 votes, 8.19 per cent support

The mail-in ballot count continues Sunday, Oct. 26, and recounts will go that day as well.

Recounts were automatically triggered in the Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre ridings as the NDP candidates were leading their Conservative candidates by less than 100 votes. A partial recount in Kelowna Centre was also granted after a one vote discrepancy between ballot counts and a tabulator results was found.

ElectionsBC’s next update on the mail-in ballot counts will be released Sunday afternoon.

The finalized results will be announced Monday, Oct. 28

— UPDATE 1:15 p.m. Oct. 26 —

The first round of mail-in ballot counting for the 2024 Provincial General Election began Saturday, Oct. 26.

As of the first update from ElectionsBC at 1:06 p.m. Saturday, there were no changes to the number of projected seats.

As it stands, the NDP are set to win 46 seats, the Conservatives have 45 and the Greens have two.

The first update came as the agency had checked the mail-in ballots for the Juan de Fuca-Malahat, Surrey City Centre, Surrey-Guildford, Cariboo-Chilcotin, Surrey-Cloverdale, and Coquitlam-Burke Mountain ridings.

There were no changes locally, with NDP Harwinder Sandhu holding a slight lead in Vernon-Lumby and Conservative Tara Armstrong set to win the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding. The preliminary vote totals can be seen below.

• Vernon-Lumby
  • Harwinder Sandhu (NDP) – 11,528 votes (42.5 per cent)
  • Dennis Giesbrecht (Conservative) – 11,143 (41.08 per cent)
  • Kevin Acton (Unaffiliated) – 4,196 (15.47 per cent)
  • Robert Johnson (Libertarian) – 259 (0.95 per cent)
• Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream
  • Tara Armstrong (Conservative) – 13,994 votes (54.14 per cent)
  • Anna Warwick Sears (NDP) – 9,041 (34.98 per cent)
  • Kevin Kraft (independent) – 1,693 (6.55 per cent)
  • Andrew Rose (Greens) – 1,119 (4.33 per cent)

ElectionsBC will count the mail-in ballots for the closest races first, then move along to other ridings.

The independent, non-partisan organization overseeing the election process said there were 66,074 mail-in ballots to certify and count in the provincial election. That total included 602 in Vernon-Lumby, and 690 in Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream.

The mail-in ballots will be counted Saturday and Sunday, with more updates to come.

Recounts will also go Sunday.

ElectionsBC will announce the final results Monday, Oct. 28.

— Original Story 10 a.m. Oct 26 —

ElectionsBC is counting the ballots received by mail for the 2024 Provincial General Election.

The independent, non-partisan agency that oversees B>C.’s elections will be counting the mail-in votes Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 26 and 27.

Ridings with the closest races will be counted first, and ElectionsBC will provide updates on the vote counts each afternoon.

ElectionsBC had originally estimated it had 49,000 mail-in ballots as of election night, but that estimate rose to 65,000 as they were processed and verified over the past week.

As the election stands after final voting day Saturday, Oct. 19, the B.C. NDP were winning or leading in 46 ridings, while the Conservative Party of B.C. was on track to win 45 seats, and the B.C. Green Party was winning in two ridings.

Locally, NDP Harwinder Sandhu had a slight lead in the Vernon-Lumby riding, while Conservative Tara Armstrong was on track to win Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream. The preliminary results as of election night were:

• Vernon-Lumby
  • Harwinder Sandhu (NDP) – 11,528 votes (42.5 per cent)
  • Dennis Giesbrecht (Conservative) – 11,143 (41.08 per cent)
  • Kevin Acton (Unaffiliated) – 4,196 (15.47 per cent)
  • Robert Johnson (Libertarian) – 259 (0.95 per cent)
• Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream
  • Tara Armstrong (Conservative) – 13,994 votes (54.14 per cent)
  • Anna Warwick Sears (NDP) – 9,041 (34.98 per cent)
  • Kevin Kraft (independent) – 1,693 (6.55 per cent)
  • Andrew Rose (Greens) – 1,119 (4.33 per cent)

Vernon Matters will provide updates on the election as the mail-in ballots are counted over the weekend.

There will also be two recounts, where the NDP candidates beat their Conservative counterparts by less than 100 votes, and a partial recount in Kelowna Centre, requested by NDP’s Loyal Woolridge, following a one vote discrepancy in the area. Those recounts, which will be done by hand, will go Sunday as well.

ElectionsBC will release the final results Monday.