It turned out to be a nail-biter, but the BC Liberals have held onto the traditionally safe seat of Surrey-White Rock.
With the final 9,895 mail-in and absentee ballots counted on Sunday, Liberal Trevor Halford defeated NDP challenger Bryn Smith by just 224 votes.
Halford ran after Liberal incumbent Tracy Redies opted not to run again.
The former CEO of Coast Capital Savings was expected to play a key role for the party if it was going to hold onto power. Instead, the Liberals were sent to the opposition benches.
In September 2019, she contracted a rare illness on a trip to Brazil. She struggled with her health, and last July, decided to resign as MLA to become the CEO of Science World.
There will be no byelection to replace her because of the timing of the provincial election. Voters in Surrey-White Rock will be asked to choose a new representative at the same time as everyone else.
The BC Liberals have represented the riding since it was created in 2001, first by Wilf Hurd, then Gordie Hogg, and finally Redies. Redies won in 2017 by a little less than 5,500 votes.
The BC Liberals candidate, Halford, ran unsuccessfully for a seat on Surrey city council in 2018.
Nominated Candidates
- BC Liberal: Trevor Halford
- BC NDP: Bryn Smith
- BC Greens: Pixie Hobby
- Independent: Megan Knight
- Libertarian: Jason Bax
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Swing Riding Meter
This has been a longtime BC Liberal stronghold since it was created in 1991.
Surrey-White Rock was the 46th closest race in the 2017 election, based on winning percentage. Redies won by 19.28 per cent. It was the 23rd closest BC Liberal seat of the 43 won by the party.
Elections Results 2017
- BC Liberals: Tracy Redies, 14,101 votes (49.87%)
- BC NDP: Niovi Patsicakis, 8,648 votes (30.59%)
- BC Greens: Bill Marshall, 4,574 votes (16.18%)
- Independent: Tom Bryant, 950 votes (3.36%)
This profile will continually be updated to reflect latest information, interviews and events in the campaign.
Find full B.C. 2020 election coverage here.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots were requested across B.C. this election. As mail-in ballots cannot be counted until after election night, these results are not final.
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