B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad speaks to the media after election results at the legislature in Victoria, on Oct. 29.CHAD HIPOLITO/The Canadian Press
B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad is seeking an independent review of the razor-thin fall election, saying his party has uncovered voting irregularities and that the provincial elections agency was careless about ensuring that ballots were cast only by Canadian citizens.
Mr. Rustad on Thursday provided no evidence that non-Canadians voted, saying the facts are difficult to establish. Instead, he said the Conservatives want a Supreme Court judge to lead a commission of inquiry into specific allegations of misconduct, and to also examine whether the Elections Act changes made in 2019 went too far in making voting more accessible to British Columbians.
“We’ve heard many stories about, for example, non-Canadian citizens who have voted in this election. However, that’s something that we can’t prove,” Mr. Rustad said.
The Oct. 19 provincial election has already been tested through judicial recounts, and the final result gave the NDP 47 seats – a bare majority – the Conservatives, 44, and the Greens, two. The NDP and the Greens have since reached an agreement that will see the two parties unite on confidence and supply votes.
Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman said in a statement Thursday that his agency, Elections BC, will investigate the Conservatives’ complaints and will co-operate with a public inquiry if the legislature moves forward with one.
“I am confident that the 2024 Provincial General Election was administered in accordance with the Election Act. The integrity measures in British Columbia’s voting process are well established and secure,” he said.
Candidates have until Jan. 19 to ask the B.C. Supreme Court to overturn any of the 93 individual riding contests.
Mr. Rustad, who initially accepted the election results, told a news conference on Thursday that he waited until now to bring forward complaints because he wanted to first investigate allegations of improprieties.
“I didn’t want to add into rumours or into conspiracy theories. I wanted to make sure that I dealt with facts,” he said.
His main allegation of misconduct revolves around a care home in the riding of Surrey-Guilford, where the Conservatives say they sent investigators to speak with residents who alleged they were coerced into voting.
The Conservative Party executive has declined to directly support a court application that will seek to overturn the results in that riding, and has made no promises to finance the case.
But defeated Tory candidate Honveer Randhawa joined Mr. Rustad at the new conference and announced he will apply to the B.C. Supreme Court to overturn the results in Surrey-Guilford, where he lost to the NDP’s Garry Begg by just 22 votes.
In a complaint filed with Elections BC, Mr. Randhawa’s case revolves around 21 residents of a care home, Argyll Lodge, who voted by mail even though the facility is across the street from a polling station. The Conservatives’ investigators produced two affidavits from residents who alleged they were coerced into voting by staff. The Conservatives redacted the names of the complainants in the documents provided to the media.
“We are going to be bringing a petition in court shortly, to make the election in Surrey-Guilford invalid, because justice must prevail and democracy must be protected,” Mr. Randhawa said at the news conference.
Baljit Kandola, head nurse and manager of the 25-bed facility, said Elections BC provided mail-in ballots to each resident, and that staff did not have any role in the voting.
“They [Elections BC] are the ones who made arrangements,” she said in an interview.
Kathy Oo, the care home’s activities director, said she gave each resident the voting package that was mailed to them, and let them mark their ballot and seal them in the envelopes provided. She said the only assistance she offered was that she filled in the facility’s address on the outer envelope, and then mailed the packages back to Elections BC.
Terry Lake, chief executive officer of the BC Care Providers Association that represents the province’s care home sector, said residents are always provided with opportunities to participate in elections. He says he’s heard no suggestions about improprieties in care homes.
“Elections BC typically sets up voting opportunities in care homes during elections. They set the rules of how that is managed, and I can’t imagine there aren’t procedures in place to ensure there is no coercion,” Mr. Lake said.
B.C. Attorney-General Niki Sharma said her government is already committed to an elections review by an all-party committee of the legislature.
“We think that the select standing committee, which would involve all parties, where they can bring their ideas and concerns forward, would be the right way to do that,” she said.
With a report from The Canadian Press