Northern B.C. votes overwhelmingly in support of Conservatives

While the results of the 2024 B.C. election remain unclear, one thing is certain: the north came out swinging in support of the Conservative Party of B.C.

Extraordinarily close races have made it impossible for CBC to project winners in 11 ridings. In particular, Juan de Fuca-Malahat is split between the NDP and Conservative candidates by roughly 20 votes. 

As it stands, the NDP is leading in six of those 11 ridings, while the Conservative and NDP parties have 40 elected MLAs each, and the Greens have two seats in the legislature. 

None of those close races occurred in the north, where all but one riding went overwhelmingly blue. 

It was only in the riding of North Coast-Haida Gwaii where an NDP MLA was elected with nearly 65 per cent of the vote, according to preliminary results from Elections B.C.

In Bulkley Valley-Stikine, former NDP Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen lost his seat to the Conservative's Sharon Hartwell by more than 1,200 votes.

Next door in Peace River North, Conservative Jordan Kealy won by a landslide, beating incumbent Dan Davies, a former B.C. United member who ran as an Independent by more than 8,000 votes. 

Prince George's three ridings all voted in Conservative MLAs, and Nechako Lakes elected B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad with more than 67 per cent of the vote. 

None of this is necessarily a huge surprise — the north has long supported the B.C. Liberal party, which became B.C. United in 2023 and ended its campaign in August, throwing its support behind the rising Conservative Party in hopes of defeating the provincial NDP.

What comes next

It will be days before British Columbians know who exactly will lead the province for the next four years. Elections B.C. said a final vote count is scheduled for Oct. 26 to 28. 

Rustad said his ability to serve his riding will depend entirely on whether his party forms government. 

"If the electorate has decided that they would like the Conservative party as the opposition, obviously I would have a little more time to be able to spend in my riding," he said Monday.

"If we're in government, the demands on my time would be much more severe, which makes it much more difficult to be able to represent my riding."

However, some political insiders believe it will be the former, that the NDP will form a minority government.

Trevor Bolin, former leader of the B.C. Conservatives said an NDP minority is likely, even with 49,000 mail-in ballots to be counted. 

"A lot of times with mail-in ballots, they're from rural and remote communities," he said. Of the 11 ridings up in the air, most of them are part of larger urban areas. 

Former B.C. Liberal supporter and UNBC student Mark Singh Dhillon agrees and believes the Green Party will lend its support to the NDP. 

"If that's not in a supply and confidence agreement, it will be through individual bills," he said.

Regardless of the final results, Prince George-Mackenzie MLA-elect Kiel Giddens said he's looking forward to bringing northern issues to Victoria. 

"I've always said from the beginning that we need to remind Victoria that the north matters," he told CBC Saturday night. "I heard from forestry workers, I heard from folks that are struggling with access to health care within the Northern Health region. All of this is just absolutely critical, and our issues [are going] to be heard."