The NDP has flipped the riding of Richmond South Centre, completing a near sweet of the Vancouver suburb in the 2020 provincial election.
The riding was the closest in B.C. on election night, with just 124 votes separating the top two candidates.
On Sunday, Elections BC finished counting the remaining 5,280 outstanding mail-in and absentee ballots.
The final count saw New Democrat Henry Yao defeat BC Liberal Alexa Loo by just 179 votes.
Loo was quick to respond on election night to the Liberals poor result by suggesting the party needed a change of leadership. Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson has announced plans to step down, but there is no timeline on when he will vacate the job.
Before the 2020 election, the riding was represented by long-time BC Liberal veteran Linda Reid.
She was first elected in 1991, and with her retirement, she departs as the longest serving member of the B.C. legislature, with time spent as speaker and in cabinet.
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She won eight elections over her 29-year career, much of it served in Richmond East.
Richmond South Centre was created in 2017, when Reid won by just under 1,200 votes.
The riding is similar to Richmond-Steveston because of its substantial Chinese population, but its demographics are changing as families move from Vancouver.
The BC Liberals are still hoping to continue the trend of dominance in that city, with a star candidate this time in Loo.
The Richmond city councillor finished 20th in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin in parallel giant slalom snowboarding.
Nominated Candidates
- BC Liberals: Alexa Loo
- BC NDP: Henry Yao
Swing Riding Meter
Richmond South Centre was the 13th closest race in the province based on winning percentage in the 2017 election. Reid won by 8.44 per cent. It was the sixth closest race of the 43 seats won by the BC Liberals.
Election Results 2017
- BC Liberals: Linda Reid, 6,914 votes (48.72%)
- BC NDP: Chak Au, 5,716 votes (40.28%)
- BC Greens: Greg Powell, 1,561 votes (11.00%)
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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