Greens reduced to one B.C. seat as NDP recaptures Nanaimo-Ladysmith in federal election

New Democrat Lisa Marie Barron has been elected in the B.C. riding of Nanaimo-Ladysmith, after a suspenseful few days of ballot-counting.

The rookie politician eked out a narrow victory over second-place Conservative candidate Tamara Kronis and Green incumbent Paul Manly, who ranked third.

Barron, a school board trustee and youth and family navigator, is pursuing a master’s degree in community development at the University of Victoria.

She is the provincial representative for the B.C. School Trustee Association and a former education committee chair.

Her victory is an upset for the embattled federal Green Party, which will only send two members to Parliament after leader Annamie Paul was unable to secure her seat in Toronto Centre.

22:05 Focus BC: Post-election reaction from newly elected Vancouver MPs

Former leader Elizabeth May, who represents Saanich-Gulf Islands, will go back to Ottawa, as will Ontario’s Mike Morris of Kitchener Centre.

Manly was one of only two Green MPs in the House of Commons at the time of dissolution.

He first ran in Nanaimo–Ladysmith in 2015, but lost to the NDP’s Sheila Malcolmson.

Malcolmson later resigned to vie for the B.C. NDP in a provincial riding. Manly ran in the byelection and won, becoming the second-ever federal Green candidate in Canada’s history with more than 37 per cent of the vote.

He sought re-election in the general election in 2019, and won with 34.6 per cent of the vote.

You can find full results for the election here, and find your riding here.