NDP nudged to majority

The NDP are a one-seat wonder in the next version of B.C.’s majority government, after gaining one seat in the 2024 provincial election recount on Monday.

The provincial NDP took the Surrey-Guildford riding in the final vote count, giving the party the magic number of 47 seats for a majority, compared to 44 for the B.C. Conservative Party and two for the Green Party of B.C.

With the new total, Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin asked NDP Premier David Eby to form the next government, the NDP noted in a release late on Monday.

“We are listening to the message voters sent with this close election, and will be getting to work on today’s tough challenges right away,” he said.

That means Nelson’s MLA — incumbent Brittny Anderson — will sit once again on the side of government representing Kootenay-Central, as will the candidate that replaced retired NDP cabinet minister Katrine Conroy, Steve Morrissette, who won Kootenay-Monashee.

The results of those two ridings were never in question during the final count, having far fewer mail-in ballots to count than the Oct. 19 election day margin of victory.

However, the declaration of the next government is tenuous, with two ridings — Surrey-Guildford and Kelowna Centre — still subject to a judicial recount with both results below the 1/500th vote threshold needed to avoid a recount.

However, if the Monday result holds it means the NDP will retain the government crown and be able to survive any confidence votes, without the help of the Green Party MLAs, since a tiebreaking vote would rest with the Speaker. Protocol suggests the Speaker should never be the one to bring down the government.

But the situation means the Speaker will have to act like a regular MLA, regularly siding with their own party and disbanding the notion of the Speaker as impartial.