Lt.-Gov. asks Eby to form B.C. government, but majority or minority status still unknown

VICTORIA — British Columbia Premier David Eby has been asked by Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin to form the next government after a count of absentee votes gave his New Democrats a narrow win in the provincial election.

Eby says he met Austin on Monday, nine days after the vote, and that he will “work hard every day to earn the trust” British Columbians have placed in the party.

Austin says in a separate statement that Eby told her “he is prepared to continue as premier.”

Whether the NDP forms a majority or minority government will depend on whether it hangs onto a razor-thin lead in Surrey-Guildford, where it had 16 more votes than the B.C. Conservatives in an ongoing count of absentee and special votes.

If the NDP wins Surrey-Guildford, it will have enough for the barest majority of 47 seats in the 93-seat legislature, although the prospect of a judicial recount looms because the margin is so tight.

Eby didn’t address whether he would form a majority or minority government, but Green Leader Sonia Furstenau says in a statement that it appears the parties will have to work together for the legislature to function effectively.

The B.C. Conservatives, led by John Rustad, ended the count with at least 44 seats.

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