---
title: "Elections BC begins final count with Ladysmith-Oceanside lead flipped to Conservatives"
description: "Elections BC began the final count of about 150,000 mail-in, absentee and assisted phone ballots on November 6, 2026. The Conservative lead in Ladysmith-Oceanside has reversed from the initial count."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/bc-election-final-count-november-6-2026"
last_updated: "2026-11-06T21:02:59.870Z"
---

Elections BC began the final count of about 150,000 mail-in, absentee and assisted telephone ballots on November 6, 2026. The Conservative Party of BC leads in 64 of 93 districts, with 864,291 total votes and 48.08 per cent of the vote, as of 12:00 p.m. Pacific on November 6, according to Elections BC. In one of the province's closest ridings, the lead has changed hands since the initial count on October 24.

## Ladysmith-Oceanside lead reverses

As of 12:00 p.m. Pacific on November 6, Conservative candidate [Kris McNichol](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/kris-mcnichol) leads [Ladysmith-Oceanside](/bc/provincial-2026/races/mla/ladysmith-oceanside) with 13,426 votes, ahead of NDP incumbent [Stephanie Higginson](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/stephanie-higginson) with 13,331 votes, a margin of 95 votes. On election night, Higginson had led McNichol by 13 votes in the initial count.

Higginson told The Canadian Press, as reported by the Victoria Times Colonist, that she has been watching the count closely.

"I feel like a bag of nerves," Higginson said.

She said she remains focused on what matters. "I feel like at the end of this process, no matter what happens, for me personally I will have my family and my home and my health, and that's a lot more than most people right now."

Elections BC will conduct a mandatory recount in Ladysmith-Oceanside because the margin is fewer than 100 votes.

## Other close ridings

In [Burnaby South-Metrotown](/bc/provincial-2026/races/mla/burnaby-south-metrotown), NDP incumbent [Paul Choi](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/paul-choi) leads Conservative [David Xie](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/david-xie) by 70 votes, 5,819 to 5,749 as of 12:00 p.m. Pacific on November 6. Elections BC will also conduct a mandatory recount in this riding.

In [Cowichan Valley](/bc/provincial-2026/races/mla/cowichan-valley), Conservative [Bert Chen](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/bert-chen) leads NDP [Debra Toporowski](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/debra-toporowski) by 154 votes, 11,104 to 10,950. Chen told The Canadian Press he will witness the count in Duncan, B.C., and described the process as routine. "It really is just business as usual," he said.

In [Kelowna Centre](/bc/provincial-2026/races/mla/kelowna-centre), Conservative [Kristina Loewen](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/kristina-loewen) leads NDP [Loyal Wooldridge](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/loyal-wooldridge) by 139 votes, 10,884 to 10,745. All figures are from Elections BC as of 12:00 p.m. Pacific.

## Overall results as final count continues

The BC NDP leads in 27 districts with 671,803 votes and 37.37 per cent. The BC Green Party leads in 2 districts with 196,956 votes and 10.96 per cent. The final count covers mail-in ballots and absentee ballots submitted at voting places outside a voter's home riding, as well as assisted telephone ballots. Voters who submitted ballots this way will not be counted twice: Elections BC checks each certification envelope against the voters list before opening it.

Elections BC said final results will be posted no later than November 10. Victoria News reported on November 5 that Conservative MLAs are scheduled to be sworn in on November 19, Green Party MLAs on November 23, and NDP MLAs on November 26. The writs are to be returned on November 18. The Elections BC results page at [results.elections.bc.ca](https://results.elections.bc.ca/Results_11684_GE-2026-10-24_Party.html) is updated every 30 minutes during the count.

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