The recount begins this afternoon in two ridings where BC’s New Democrats held a slight lead after the initial tally from last week’s still-undecided election.

Elections BC says recounts in Juan de Fuca-Malahat on Vancouver Island and in downtown Surrey will begin at 1 p.m. and will be posted online once completed.

The recounts were triggered because their margins after last week’s initial tally were less than 100, but the counting of mail-in ballots Saturday widened the NDP’s lead in Juan de Fuca-Malahat to 106 votes and 178 in downtown Surrey.

So far, no lead has changed in the mail-in count that continues today, but the prospects for an NDP government have increased, as the party widens its lead in some close races and reduced conservative margins in others.

The province’s closest undecided riding is Surrey-Guildford, where the Conservative lead was reduced to 12 votes on Saturday.

Prime Minister David Eby’s NDP is elected or ahead with 46 seats and John Rustad’s Conservatives with 45 seats, both short of a 47-seat majority, while the Greens could hold the balance of power with two seats .

The final makeup of the 93 seats in British Columbia’s legislature won’t be known until at least Monday, when more than 22,000 absentee and special votes will be counted.

Judicial recounts could subsequently take place if the margin in a district is less than 1/500th of all votes cast.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 27, 2024.

Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press