Conservative Party of British Columbia Leader John Rustad announced his party has discovered alleged voting irregularities in one of the 2024 provincial election’s closest ridings – Surrey-Guildford. The BC NDP won the riding by a margin of just 22 votes after a judicial recount.
The BC Conservative leader spoke at a press conference in front of the provincial legislature in Victoria on Thursday morning, announcing that his party has reason to be suspect of the final results.
“There’s been many people who have brought forward a tremendous amount of information to us about the election,” said Rustad.
The B.C. Conservatives have said they have filed a complaint with Elections B.C. regarding their findings.
Rustad claimed he did not comment on the allegations during the election because he believes British Columbians need to have confidence in the electoral system and didn’t want to add any rumours but wanted to make sure that his claims were based in facts.
The BC Conservative leader alleged there was evidence of irregularities related to a senior home in the riding, instances of people voting twice and votes submitted by non-Canadian citizens.
“We have cases where an individual went to vote and was told somebody had already voted using their name,” explained Rustad.
Specifically, Rustad pointed to address discrepancies and 21 irregular votes being registered to a senior home.
“In Surrey-Guildford we found a case of a double vote, we have found a case of there being at least 2,000 being cast of people whose place of residence that was on Elections BC is not where they currently live,” said Rustad.
“One of the more serious issues we have found is associated with a care facility of seniors where 21 ballots were cast and individuals in that facility have come forward with affidavits of what went on.”
BC NDP candidate Gary Begg defeated BC Conservative Honveer Singh Randhawa by one of the narrowest victories in last year’s hotly contested election.
According to read-out provided to the media by the BC Conservatives, the facility in question is Argyll Lodge
Rustad made several recommendations including a call for an independent review into the election process. Additionally, Rustad called for changes to the Elections Act, which was authored by BC NDP Premier David Eby in 2019.
“We are making a recommendation that all photo ID issued should have a ‘C’ on it to ensure that the individuals are Canadian citizens,” said Rustad.
“The last recommendation is we actually think there are many people who have voted who may not be Canadian citizens, however, nobody wants to come forward because they are worried of what may happen. I think we must suspend the penalties for a 90-day period to allow people to come forward and explain what happened.”
True North contacted Elections BC to inquire if they were aware of any irregularities or if there were any ongoing investigations into the matter, however, they were not available for contact in time for publication.
