Fraser Valley switches to orange from red in at least four ridings
The NDP made gains in the Fraser Valley in Saturday's election, taking four ridings that previously leaned Liberal, though one remained too close to call Sunday.
The traditionally conservative stronghold of Chilliwack-Kent was in a dead heat on election day. After all 90 polls had reported, NDP candidate Kelli Paddon led incumbent Laurie Throness by just 195 votes. Throness was booted from the B.C. Liberal ticket less than two weeks before the election after comparing the NDP birth-control plan to eugenics. He ran as an Independent.
But more than 7,650 requested mail-in ballots are still to be counted in the riding and will ultimately decide the victor.
In Langley, The Canadian Press declared NDP candidate Andrew Mercier the winner over B.C. Liberal Mary Polak, who has served the riding for the Liberals since 2005. But Polak, who cited vote-splitting between Liberals and Conservatives as a contributing factor, said she would wait until up nearly 9,000 mail-in ballots were counted.
In Langley East, a usually reliable Liberal seat formerly held by
cabinet minister Rich Coleman, NDP candidate Megan Dykeman was declared the winner over Liberal Margaret Kunst, a former city councillor who had balked at supporting a rainbow crosswalk.
In Chilliwack, NDP candidate Dan Coulter was declared the victor Saturday over Liberal incumbent John Martin. Diane Janzen, who ran for the Conservatives (after previously running for the federal Liberals), trailed.
The results in Fraser Valley may be attributable to a changing demographic. Transportation was a key issue in the region, where the NDP was able to capitalize with its promise of a $1.5-billion SkyTrain extension to Langley.
In Abbotsford South, Liberal candidate Bruce Banman, a former mayor and city councillor, defeated NDP candidate Inder Johal, leading by just over 2,000 votes after Saturday's initial count.
Banman advocated for transit and an expansion of Highway 1 and touted a rapid rail transit system that could serve commuters and connect the region to Metro Vancouver.
Banman replaces Darryl Plecas, who won the riding for the Liberals in 2013 and again in 2017, but stepped aside to sit as an Independent after becoming Speaker of the legislature in 2017.
In Abbotsford-Mission, NDP candidate Pam Alexis took an early lead over incumbent Simon Gibson of the Liberals, but by the end of the night, Gibson had pulled ahead by 188 votes. It was so close, a victor was not declared, with up to 8,119 mail-in ballots to be counted.
In Abbotsford West, Liberal incumbent Mike de Jong won handily for an eighth time as an MLA, ahead of NDP candidate Preet Rai.
In Langley, the seat flip in the historically right-leaning riding is believed to be due to a growing number of families and young professionals swayed by NDP promises on transit, child care and housing affordability. Almost 19 per cent of voters requested mail-in ballots, so as many as 8,944 remain to be counted.