VICTORIA — The Liberals and New Democrats have been declared the winners in two hotly contested British Columbia federal ridings too close to call on election night.
Elections Canada says Liberal Wilson Miao will be the new member of Parliament for Richmond Centre, defeating the Conservative incumbent Alice Wong by 772 votes.
In Nanaimo-Ladysmith on Vancouver Island, New Democrat challenger Lisa Marie Barron defeated Conservative Tamara Kronis by 1,281 votes. Green incumbent Paul Manly placed third.
Kevin Vuong declared on Saturday night that he would sit in the House of Commons as an independent after controversy clouded his election in the downtown Toronto riding of Spadina-Fort York.
The Liberal party dropped Vuong as a candidate just two days before Monday's election.
The federal party made the decision after the Toronto Star reported there had been a sexual assault charge laid against him in 2019, which was later dropped.
On Friday, Elections Canada declared Liberal Taleeb Noormohamed the winner in Vancouver Granville, the riding formerly held by Independent Jody Wilson-Raybould, a former Liberal cabinet minister.
Liberal Patrick Weiler was also declared the winner in West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky, defeating Conservative John Weston, a former cabinet minister.
While mail-in ballots for several ridings are still being counted, the final seat count stemming from Monday's election has now been all but finalized with the Liberals claiming 158, the Conservatives 119, 33 for the Bloc Québécois, 25 for the New Democratic Party, two for the Green Party and one independent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2021.
The Canadian Press
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version featured an inaccurate headline.
