Battle for BC: Eby Wins Another Majority Government in Historically Close Election, Final Ballot Count Continues

B.C. Premier David Eby returned to the legislature this week after Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin asked him to form the next government. The request came following a count of mail-in and absentee votes that gave the New Democrats a narrow win in the provincial election.

A visibly relieved Eby spoke to reporters on Tuesday, saying he’s happy to be back, but understands the message British Columbians sent this election. The Premier promised to do better on key files, including crime, and support for mental health and addictions.

This is the first time in B.C.’s history the NDP has been elected three times in a row. It’s also the first-time women have won more than half the seats. At last count, 48 of 93 MLA elects were women, which is nearly 52 per cent.
While it took more than a week to confirm B.C.’s next Premier, the count isn’t quite over. Two judicial recounts will take place next week to confirm the result.

Judicial recounts must take place if the margin of victory is within 1/500th of all ballots considered in the riding. The NDP candidate’s 27-vote victory margin in Surrey-Guildford, and the Conservative candidate’s 38-vote win in Kelowna Centre both triggered automatic judicial recounts, which will be conducted by the Supreme Court of British Columbia in early November.

It’s a process that’s slowing Eby down as he looks to choose his Cabinet, convene a fall sitting, and have the Legislature select a speaker.
  

Current Count

• BC NDP - 47 seats 

• BC Conservatives - 45 seats

• BC Greens - 2 seats

What's Next 

While the NDP have won a majority government, it is a bare majority, and the legislature still requires someone to serve as the non-voting speaker. The NDP do not have enough seats to have one of their own MLAs serve as speaker and still control votes in the legislature. In an effort to fix this dilemma, the NDP has put out background feelers to some Conservative MLAs to serve in this role but so far – the Conservative caucus is sticking together with several MLAs already publicly stating that they will not serve as speaker. At this time, the Premier is very tight lipped on who the speaker may be or which party they’ll come from. He’s been clear that his priority is to get the legislature working and the invitation to collaborate is open to any MLA who shares the NDP’s values. While the rumour mill in Victoria is swirling with possibilities, Eby would only say he’s not ruling anything out.

With such a slim margin, Eby has also already met with the two members of the BC Greens, as well as Sonia Furstenau who is no longer an MLA but remains the leader of the party. Expect to see the NDP continue to reach across the aisle as they work to keep the confidence of the legislature.

With a number of prominent cabinet ministers losing their seats this election, Eby also has to select a new cabinet. The cabinet will not be announced until after the judicial recounts are complete. Combined with those who did not run for re-election, there will be at least 12 new Ministers. Eby has the additional challenge of ensuring his cabinet represents the entire province when the majority of his members hail from urban ridings.

The legislature is expected to sit before Christmas, but without any legislation being introduced. It will be an opportunity for the more than 50 brand new Members of the Legislative Assembly to get acquainted with their office in the provincial capital and for the new Cabinet to meet with their departments for a deep dive into priority files.

In the Media

‘It’s about time’: Record-breaking number of women elected in B.C. election: British Columbia reached a milestone for the number of women elected. According to Research Co., 48 of 93 MLA elects were women, which is nearly 52 per cent. In comparison, the previous election in 2020 had 42.5 per cent.

B.C. election reaction: David Eby vows to repair divided province, John Rustad says shared priorities a possibility: As the dust settles on the 2024 provincial election, Premier David Eby is preaching unity but acknowledges his government needs to do more to address affordability and public safety concerns if it is to win another election.

Why it took so long to tally up the B.C. election: It wasn’t until Monday, 10 days after voting took place, that the B.C. NDP was declared victor and invited to form government by Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin.