BC Liberal leader wins seat in legislature through byelection

The results for a seat in the B.C legislature are in after voters in an upscale Vancouver neighbourhood took to the polls Saturday and confirmed leader of the British Columbia Liberals has secured his seat.

After a landslide win, Kevin Falcon will represent Vancouver-Quilchena in Victoria. He is the former cabinet minister who took the helm of the Opposition party in February.

Preliminary results show he has won 57 per cent of the vote in a byelection with 84 per cent of ballot boxes reporting.

Falcon told a crowd of supporters he will use his seat to hold the government to account.

“We got a wonderful message from the voters, a Vancouver-Quilchena. That said it is time for an end to the empty rhetoric. It is time for our government that gets results,” he said.

Falcon said he’s heard the community express that affordability was one of the top issues among voters.

“They’re ever concerned over the fact that we have the highest housing prices in North America, that we have the highest fuel prices in North America, that Vancouver has the highest rents in Canada,” he said.

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He fills the seat left vacant by former Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson, who won the riding with 56 per cent of the vote in 2020 but resigned to make way for Falcon to sit in the legislature.

Falcon was up against Jeanette Ashe, representing the NDP who came in second, and Wendy Hayko of the BC Green party who came in third.

Electronic tabulators were used to count the ballots for the first time in a B.C. provincial election.

– With files from Nikitha Martins