Surrey MLA says BC NDP needs to ‘adapt’ and ‘build bridges’

The New Democrat, whose 27-vote come-from-behind election victory is credited with giving BC Premier David Eby a razor-thin majority, says he is a bridge builder in his community and that the party needs similar relationships across the province.

Garry Begg’s slim victory over the BC Conservative candidate in Surrey-Guildford is still subject to a judicial recount, but for now it gives the NDP the 47 seats needed to form a majority in British Columbia’s 93-seat legislature.

Begg, a former RCMP officer first elected in 2017, was greeted with hugs and handshakes on Wednesday as the NDP’s new caucus gathered in the legislature for its first meeting since the Oct. 19 election.

“I’m not building walls. I’m building bridges. We’ve got bridges to build here,” Begg said, referring to communities across the state.

Begg was more than 100 votes behind BC Conservative candidate Honveer Singh Randhawa on election night, but there were still more than 600 mail-in and absentee ballots to be counted.

He narrowed the margin to 12 votes when mail-ins were counted on Sunday, then finally overtook Randhawa a few hours into the absentee count on Monday.

He said he’s now called the “Comeback Kid.”

“There are many names I won’t tell you about, other than the ones I’m normally called,” he said with a smile.

Begg said he echoed the premier’s earlier comments, saying voters are sending a strong message to the NDP that they want change.

“I know they want change in the way we do things, and that’s what we’re about,” he said. “We have to do this. We have to adapt.”

The NDP won a supermajority government in 2020, taking 57 of the 87 seats in the legislature. But after all the votes were counted on Monday, the New Democrats escaped with an absolute majority of 47 seats in the expanded parliament.

The BC Conservatives had 44 seats, while the Green Party won two.

Eby said one of his first jobs was to form a new cabinet after losing five ministers during the election and seven ministers not being able to run.

BC Conservative Leader John Rustad says he plans to ensure his new group puts intense pressure on the NDP to work to help ordinary people in the province.

She said Tuesday that she knows residents don’t want to go to another election right away, “but when I look at the damage that David Eby has done, if he’s going to continue down this path, then that’s what I’ll do.” You have no choice.”

A statement from the BC Chamber of Commerce called on all members to prioritize improving the health of the province’s economy.

“Affordability for British Columbians is unachievable without a strong economy,” he said.

The report stated that the state was left behind in many sectors, and stated that 12,400 manufacturing jobs have been lost since 2017 and more than 10,000 forestry jobs have disappeared in the last four years.

“This is unprecedented and unsustainable,” the chamber said.

He said members heard throughout the campaign that families, communities and businesses were struggling with extraordinary financial challenges.

“As rising costs for basic needs like housing and food put enormous pressure on households, many small businesses face increasing challenges meeting payroll and staying open.”

Eby told the media Tuesday that he’s heard the message from voters in tight elections that they want the NDP to do better on issues including public safety.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2024.