B.C. election 2020: West Vancouver-Sea to Sky results

It looks like heartbreak for the BC Greens, who appear to have fallen just shy of winning their first-ever seat off of Vancouver Island.

With the completion of a final count of mail-in and absentee ballots, BC Liberal incumbent Jordan Sturdy defeated Green Jeremy Valeriote by just 41 votes.

However, with a total of 24,565 votes cast, the margin is small enough to qualify for a judicial recount.

The result is a bitter pill for the Green, who led by 604 votes on election night.

But there were still 6,958 votes left to be counted.

West Vancouver-Sea to Sky is the riding the BC Greens covet, but the BC Liberals have just kept on winning.

It spans one of the province’s most magnificent drives: from West Vancouver, through Squamish, past Whistler and into Pemberton. With the mix of urban and rural residents, ski bums, retirees and those looking for a break from the city, the riding offers up a wide mix of voters.

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When the Greens were in their early days, it was this riding where they saw there first sign of success. Even though the Liberals won decisively in 2001, the Greens finished second. They have been chasing it ever since.

Jordan Sturdy, the former mayor of Pemberton, has been the MLA since 2013. He will be running again for the Liberals.

Sturdy beat Dana Taylor by 3,200 votes in 2017. The Greens still hope to pick it up, but the climb from a distant second to first place is often a tough one in politics. Former Gibsons councillor and engineer Jeremy Valeriote will be running for the Greens.

Nominated Candidates

• BC Liberals: Jordan Sturdy
• BC NDP: Keith Murdoch
• BC Greens: Jeremy Valeriote

Swing Riding Meter

The BC Liberals have held the riding since 1991. Before then, a similar riding was held by Social Credit Party MLA John Reynolds from 1975 to 1991.

It was the 34th closest race out of 87 districts in 2017, based on winning percentage. Sturdy won by 14.4 per cent. It was the 14th closest BC Liberal riding out of 43 seats won by the party.

Election Results 2017

• BC Liberals: Jordan Sturdy, 10,449 votes (43.08%)
• BC Greens: Dana Taylor, 6,947 votes (28.64%)
• BC NDP: Michelle Livaja, 6,532 votes (26.93%)
• Libertarian: Michael Cambridge, 186 votes (0.76%)
• Independent: Tristan Andrew Galbraith, 143 votes (0.59%)

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.