The election to form British Columbia’s next government came down to just a handful of votes. The NDP won enough seats to form the government, although the margin is slim.

With no clear winner on election night, results from a handful of undecided precincts came down to the final tally of mail-in ballots Monday.

Even if the counting of mail-in ballots ends, there could be more to count. District election officials must request a judicial recount by a BC Supreme Court judge if the difference between the top two candidates is less than 1/500th of the total ballots counted.

Here is a timeline of key moments:

October 10-16 — Hundreds of advance polls opened across the province and a record number of British Columbians came out to vote before election day on October 19.

Elections BC says 1,001,331 people voted during the advance voting period, the highest ever in a British Columbia election.

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October 19 — Election Day in British Columbia comes amid an atmospheric river that floods much of the coast, killing three people, two in a road collapse, another when her home was swept away by a landslide. ground.

By the end of the evening, David Eby’s New Democrats were elected or leading in 46 ridings, John Rustad’s British Columbia Conservatives in 45 and the Greens, led by Sonia Furstenau, had won two ridings. No party reached the 47 seats needed for a majority and a handful of constituencies were too close to call.

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October 20 — Elections BC estimates approximately 49,000 mail-in and mail-in ballots will be counted in the final count.

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October 24 — After reviewing the votes, Elections BC increases the number of uncounted absentee and mail-in ballots to approximately 65,000.

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October 25 — Elections BC releases figures showing where 43,538 absentee and telephone votes remain to be counted, along with 22,536 special and absentee ballots.

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October 26 — The counting of postal votes begins. No riding changed hands, but the NDP widened its lead in close races and significantly reduced the Conservative lead in Surrey-Guildford, from 103 to just 12 votes.

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October 27 — The count of postal votes continues, with the overall race still too close to call. The stories begin in Juan de Fuca-Malahat, downtown Surrey and central Kelowna. The recount in downtown Surrey reduces the NDP lead to 175 votes from 178 votes.

A partial recount of ballots run through a tabulator in Kelowna Center gives the Conservatives a 68-vote lead.

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October 28 — Each electoral district in the province is carrying out the final count of more than 22,000 postal and special ballots, starting at 9 a.m. The NDP scores victories in close races to give it a total of at least 46 ridings, while edging out the BC Conservatives in Surrey-Guildford. by a handful of votes. Eby meets with Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin, who asks him to form government.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 28, 2024.

The Canadian Press