Image: Ethan Cairns, Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press / B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad, left, and B.C. NDP Leader David Eby, right, are seen in this two-photograph panel during campaign stops in Chilliwack and Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday, October 17, 2024.

By Don Mitchell

BC Election

Elections BC updates vote count in Fraser Valley, begins recounts for Island and Surrey ridings

Oct 27, 2024 | 2:36 PM

VICTORIA – Even with roughly 2,600 additional votes added to the tally for seven Fraser Valley-area ridings on Sunday afternoon, there were no changes in any lead during the ongoing count in the 2024 B.C. election.

Chilliwack-Cultus saw the largest number of new ballots, 616 votes added on Sunday to the 24,163 initially counted a week ago following the election.

However, BC Conservative A’aliya Warbus maintained her lead, even as NDP’s Kelli Paddon gained close to 150 votes.

Recounts in Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre highlighted Sunday’s phase of the final count of mail-in and absentee ballots.

The recounts were triggered because the margins after the initial tally last week were below 100. However, the counting of mail-in ballots on Saturday widened the NDP’s lead in Juan de Fuca-Malahat to 106 votes and to 178 votes in Surrey City Centre.

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As of the end of the day Saturday, Elections BC reported that Surrey City Centre NDP candidate Amna Shah saw her lead grow by 179 votes to a total of 6,619, 178 ahead of Conservative Zeeshan Wahla.

In Juan de Fuca-Malahat, Dana Lajuenesse gained 235 votes for a total of 9,181, leading Conservative Marina Sapozhinikov by 106 votes.

The closest race continues to be in Surrey-Guildford, where Conservative candidate Honveer Singh Randhawa leads NDP incumbent Garry Begg by just 12 votes.

As of Sunday afternoon, no leads had changed in the mail-in count, but prospects for an NDP government have improved, as the party widened its leads in some close races.

The NDP continues to lead the overall race with 46 seats, while the Conservatives trail closely with 45, and the Greens hold two.

The final tally is expected to be completed on Monday when the remaining 22,000 absentee ballots are counted.

Results will be updated hourly on the Elections BC website on the 28th.

– With files from the Canadian Press