BC NDP MLA Bowinn Ma has been re-elected in the North Vancouver-Lonsdale riding.
With 17 of 18 ballot boxes counted, Ma held a large lead with 16,058 votes (64.62 per cent) compared to 8,790 (35.38 per cent) for Conservative Party candidate David Splett.
"I'm humbled that the people of North Vancouver-Lonsdale have put their trust in me again to be their MLA. I know it is a privilege and an enormous responsibility that I don't take lightly," Ma said.
Ma has been serving as the MLA for the area since May 2017, marking her third term in office.
Ma came together with other BC NDP candidates such as North Vancouver-Seymour winner Susie Chant and Sara Eftekhar, who ran for West Vancouver-Capilano, to watch the results unfold Saturday night. Cheering filled the room from campaign managers, friends and others as the preliminary votes were coming in on the screen.
When Ma's votes came in, people clapped and cheered loudly in celebration of her win.
During the campaign, some of Ma's top issues were housing affordability, improving access to health care, addressing homelessness and public safety, and advancing Indigenous reconciliation.
"My commitment to my community members will remain the same as it always has. I will be there to work for them, to fight for them, and to serve them to the best of my ability," Ma said.
Ma carries a civil engineering degree with a background in transportation engineering, serving as the Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness in the Eby government. Before becoming an MLA, she managed terminal expansion and redevelopment projects at the Vancouver International Airport, according to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia's website.
However, today marked a unique election day for voters in B.C., as an atmospheric river hit the region, with flooding across the Lower Mainland. With the circumstances, Ma says she's grateful voters still came out to cast their ballots.
"The election day was not great weather for a lot of folks, so I'm really grateful to the folks who donned their rain jacket and umbrellas and braved the storm to cast their ballots," Ma said.
There's still 2.5 hours left to get your ballot into the box! Dress for the weather and travel safely to your nearest voting station. 🗳
— Bowinn Ma (@BowinnMa) October 20, 2024
Find your nearest voting location at https://t.co/pq5qOoasHM. pic.twitter.com/ZzAJ8kjPzF
Although Splett lost the race, he's not giving up.
"I am disappointed," Splett said the day after the election, adding that the votes spoke to the hard work his team did campaigning over the last two months and the "value proposition of the conservative message."
Splett said he spent election night at Palermo Cucina with his wife, his campaign manager Danielle Pistilli, various donors and others from the community interested in seeing the results.
The North Vancouver-Lonsdale candidate carries more than 30 years of experience in financial and operational management globally from Mexico to Peru. He was the chief financial officer (CFO) for Newmont Goldcorp Corporation in Mexico and VP finance and administration at Antamina, a copper and zinc mine in Lima, Peru. Since Splett returned to Vancouver four years ago, he worked as a CFO for a mining corporation in Vancouver and left in July to focus on the provincial election.
Some of Splett's policy promises were expanding a home ownership program, allowing new buyers to purchase homes at 60 per cent of market value, improving access to health care and focusing on economic development and attracting more businesses to B.C.
This marked the first provincial election for Splett, but the journey isn't over as he's working on building a riding association.
"We are going to take the fight to the NDP, and this thing is not over by any means," Splett said. "I'm in a good position where I can take a little bit of time and I can think about what [the] next steps are ... and our team is going to be back."
Tonight, the results didn’t go our way, but I couldn’t be prouder of the campaign we ran. In just two short months, we built a movement from the ground up, powered by the passion and dedication of so many amazing people.
— David Splett (@DSplett4BC) October 20, 2024
To everyone who knocked on doors, made calls, and believed…
Ma says she looks forward to going back to the office soon and continuing to working for the people of her riding and the province.
"We've been receiving emails even during the election period from people who require that advocacy, so I'm looking forward to being sworn back," Ma said.
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
