With 10 ridings in play, Surrey was the battleground everyone was watching tonight as David Eby’s BC NDP and Lorne Doerkson’s BC Conservatives fought it out in the hopes of forming government.
It all went south quickly for Eby, however, and he has already conceded defeat and resigned as leader in the face of a projected B.C. Conservative government. The blue wave has hit Surrey – though it may not be a total sweep. Conservatives are leading or elected in nine of Surrey’s 10 ridings, while the 10th is a neck-and-neck battle between the NDP’s Amna Shah and the Conservatives’ Zeeshan Wahla.
The Surrey Now-Leader, Peace Arch News and Cloverdale Reporter news team is out on the road this evening bringing you live results and campaign updates from our local races. We’ll keep the play-by-play running through the night – keep checking back.
To keep an eye on the BC-wide race, check out our Black Press Media Live Blog.
RIDING TRACKER: 10:20 p.m.
SURREY CITY CENTRE: Conservative Zeeshan Wahla and NDP Amna Shah neck and neck – Shah leading at 10 p.m. by 1 p.m.
SURREY NORTH: Conservative (Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal) leading at 58.6% * DECLARED WINNER
SURREY SOUTH: Conservative (Megan Knight) leading at 62.6%* DECLARED WINNER
SURREY-CLOVERDALE: Conservative (Nicholas Cartmell) leading at 51.7% *DECLARED WINNER
SURREY-FLEETWOOD: Conservative (Garry Purewal) leading at 50.7% *DECLARED WINNER
SURREY-GUILDFORD: Conservative (Garry Thind) wins at 50.7% * DECLARED WINNER
SURREY-NEWTON: Conservative (Harj Dhaliwal) leading at 54.6% * DECLARED WINNER
SURREY-PANORAMA: Conservative (Bryan Tepper) leading at 59%* DECLARED WINNER
SURREY-SERPENTINE RIVER: Conservative (Jessy Sahota) leading at 58.1%* DECLARED WINNER
SURREY-WHITE ROCK: Conservative (Trevor Halford) leading at 58.7%* DECLARED WINNER
*
10:23 pm.
And Surrey-Cloverdale has gone blue, too.
Nicholas Cartmell is on his way to victory in the riding against the BC NDP’s Stephen Dooley, 6,438 votes (51.7%) to 4,199 (33.7%).
“It doesn’t feel real yet, but it’ll settle in and I’ll wake up in the morning and I’ll think about the next things I’m going to do for the riding. But I’m very happy. It’s a great result for Cloverdale,” Cartmell said.
10:16 p.m.
Another incumbent New Democrat is on her way out. Jessie Sunner of the BC NDP has appeared in front of supporters at the Grand Empire banquet hall as she is defeated by Conservative Harj Dhaliwal in Surrey-Newton.
With 54 of 60 ballot boxes reported, Sunner captured 5,101 votes (40.5%) to Dhaliwal’s 6,873 (54.6%).
10:11 p.m.
Surrey-Guildford may have had all the excitement last time, what with a recount and a court challenge – but not this time.
Conservative candidate Garry Thind has captured victory, with 7,691 votes (50.7%) to the NDP’s Garry Begg at 6,229 (41.0%).
All 76 ballot boxes have reported back.
10:08 p.m.
A big name has fallen, as Surrey-Fleetwood incumbent Jagrup Brar will not return to the legislature. Brar managed just 6,473 votes (38.1%) to Conservative candidate Garry Purewal’s 8,614 (50.7%).
Green candidate Tim Binnema, with 1,025 votes, claimed 6.0% of the vote – so vote splitting wasn’t a factor here, either.
10:04 p.m.
Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal is taking Surrey North back for the Conservatives with a comfortable win. Though only 33 of 65 ballot boxes have reported back, no one is catching his lead at this point – he has 5,023 votes, or 58.6%, compared to NDP Sahib Thind, with 2,798 votes, or 32.7%
10:00 p.m.
Can anyone say “recount”? It seems entirely likely that Surrey City Centre is on its way to one, as currently Conservative Zeeshan Wahla and NDP Amna Shah are separated by just one vote, with 23 ballot boxes left to report.
If Shah can hold the the riding, it looks like she will be the only New Democrat to do so.
9:55 p.m.
Just 39 of 82 ballot boxes have reported back, but no one is catching Megan Knight as she claims a decisive win for the Conservatives to keep the blue momentum going.
CentreBC leader Elenore Sturko is congratulating Knight on her win.
“I wish Megan good luck. I hope that the new government serves British Columbia well,” Sturko said. “I’m also grateful for the opportunity that I had over the last four years to serve British Columbians here in Surrey South and Cloverdale and really British Columbians across the province, bringing change to drug policy, public safety, safety in hospitals and many more policies that I’m really proud of. “
“My family and I feel richer for the experience of having served in the B.C. legislature.”
9:54 p.m.
It remains a neck-and-neck battle in Surrey City Centre, where Conservative Zeeshan Wahla has retaken the lead – but just 92 votes ahead of the BC NDP’s Amna Shah. Just 50 of 72 boxes are reporting.
9:51 p.m.
The victories are coming fast and furious for the Conservatives now. Incumbent Bryan Tepper has posted a convincing 58.8% of the vote, compared to NDP challenger Jinny Sims’ 33.5%, to win the riding back for Doerkson’s team.
Nolen Scott of the BC Greens got just 5.0% of the vote, meaning that perceived potential vote splitting was not in play.
9:49 pm.
Jessy Sahota has claimed victory for the Conservatives in Surrey-Serpentine River, with 9,805 votes to the NDP’s Sikander Kang at 5,528. That’s 58% of the vote, compared to 32.7% for the BC NDP.
Judy Higginbotham, former Surrey city councillor, wasn’t able to make any inroads for CentreBC, with just 5.1% of the vote as voters coalesced around a two-party race.
9:39 p.m.
Much to the surprise of, well, no one, we’re calling it: Surrey-White Rock has been claimed by Conservative candidate Trevor Halford.
With 55 of 87 ballot boxes reporting back, Halford has more than double the vote count of his nearest rival, BC NDP’s Darryl Walker.
Halford has 11,229, or 58.6% of the vote, to Walker’s 5,573, or 29.1%.
Meanwhile, B.C. Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson has arrived at Conservative Party election night headquarters in Vancouver to a hero’s welcome.
*
9:26 p.m.
If there’s a ray of hope for the BC NDP in Surrey, it appears to be in the hands of Amna Shah in Surrey City Centre right now.
Twenty-three of 72 ballot boxes are back, and Shah has moved into the lead at 46.7% of the vote to Conservative Zeeshan Wahla’s 45.9%.
BC NDP leader David Eby has taken to the stage at the party’s election night headquarters in Vancouver to concede.
Down at Conservative celebrations in Surrey South, the crowd booed loudly as Eby appeared at the microphone on TV.
9:23 p.m.
Just reached on the phone, BC Conservative candidate Gary Thind is looking to make history by being elected in different B.C. elections in the same week, after his school trustee win in the Oct. 17 civic election.
His win could trigger a byelection for the trustee seat, as an MLA is disqualified from holding a local elected office.
“I still haven’t sworn in as school board trustee,” Thind said. “So our secretary-treasurer department, they are looking for options if there is any legal way of not getting a by-election done and calling the seventh position on board. But I can’t say anything yet until they they do their homework and figure out what’s going to happen.
“People will be very happy if if there is no cost involved in getting a byelection done for one seat. … We don’t want an additional cost to incur on on taxpayers.”
9:18 p.m.
It appears it was not to be for CentreBC and leader Elenore Sturko. The well-known former Conservative, then-independent, MLA couldn’t make a breakthrough in her own Surrey South riding, sitting at just 11.1% of the vote so far.
Conservative Megan Knight is currently crushing the riding, with 61.9% of the vote with just six of 82 ballot boxes reporting.
Parik Tahlan of the BC NDP sits at 21.1% – meaning even Tahlan and Sturko combined couldn’t have changed the outcome.
9:14 p.m.
Trevor Halford and Megan Knight have taken to an improvised podium to address an exuberant Conservative crowd at their election night party.
Halford said that over the last few weeks, 29,000 people lost their jobs in B.C.: “Tonight, David Eby lost his job.”
9:03 p.m.
It was supposed to be a hard-fought night in Surrey – but it’s not shaping up to be one. Although relatively few ballot boxes have been counted, media outlets are projecting a B.C. Conservative majority as riding after riding either holds blue, or turns blue.
In Surrey, it’s no different, as all 10 of the city’s ridings, as well as neighbouring Delta North and Delta South, are showing Conservative leads.
8:54 p.m.
“It’s a great day for B.C. I’m so proud of the work we’ve all been doing.”
Those are the words of a happy Trevor Halford, Conservative incumbent in Surrey-White Rock, as he watches a projected majority government for his party under leader Lorne Doerkson – and an expected handy win for his own seat once again.
Halford is with supporters and fellow candidate Megan Knight of Surrey South at Milestone’s in South Surrey.
8:45 p.m.
Conservative supporters for two Surrey candidates, Zeeshan Wahla in Surrey City Centre and Garry Thind in Surrey-Guildford, are gathered at Taj Park Convention Centre in Surrey.
Among them is a 15-year-old volunteer, Nehan Azam, a student from Princess Margaret Secondary. He’s been door-knocking to help Wahla, walking the neighbourhood almost every day from after school till sunset.
“I’m very confident,” he said. “I am finally so happy to probably be able to win tonight, we’ve all worked so hard.”
Over at the NDP watch party at Grand Empire banquet hall, the mood is sedate – and even volunteers for the NDP fancy the Conservatives’ chances tonight.
Harry Sandhu, volunteer on Jessie Sunner’s @bcndp team in Surrey-Newton, on results 45 mins after polls closed.”Maybe the (Conservative) lead will change later on, but still it looks like they’ll make the government.” Video: @tomzytaruk Live Blog: https://t.co/3rNnjnN8jN https://t.co/d3ZxjMIq8i
— Surrey Now-Leader (@SurreyNowLeader) October 25, 2026
8:34 p.m.
Only advance voting boxes are back in so far, but Surrey is looking mighty blue early in the evening.
Two advance voting boxes are back in Surrey-Fleetwood, where Garry Purewal has 2,292 votes to Jagrup Brar’s 1,685 early in the evening.
In Surrey-Guildford, in the much-hyped Battle of the Garrys, the Conservatives’ Thind has 56% of the vote to 37.5% for the NDP’s Begg, with three advance ballot boxes reporting.
Surrey North has all four of its advance ballot boxes reporting back, and Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal is out to a commanding lead, with 58.17% of the vote compared to the BC NDP’s Sahib Thind at 32.39%
Surrey-Serpentine River, with three of five advance ballot boxes reporting back, has Jessy Sahota of the Conservatives at 58.85% to the BC NDP’s Sikander Kang at 31.25%. So far, the vote isn’t materializing for Judy Higginbotham, with just 5.45% for CentreBC.
8:27
The Conservative watch party for Surrey South and Surrey-White Rock is cheering on early results showing Trevor Halford in the lead in Surrey-White Rock, as widely expected. Halford has arrived to join the crowd.
8:19 p.m.
Conservative supporters in Surrey South and Surrey-White Rock have gathered at the Milestone’s at Southpoint for a viewing party. Surrey South candidate Megan Knight, best known as the outgoing White Rock mayor, has arrived. We’ve yet to spot Trevor Halford, the incumbent for Surrey-White Rock who’s widely expected to win again.
8:15 p.m.
While we await the first results, let’s take a look at one more wild card in Surrey tonight: what we’re calling The Judy Factor.
It’s an interesting story over in Surrey-Serpentine River, which was won by Linda Hepner for the Conservatives last time by just 435 votes over Baltej Singh Dhillon of the NDP.
With neither Hepner nor Dhillon in the race this time, things are a little more open again.
Newcomer Sikander Kang contests the riding for the NDP, while Jessy Sahota is on the ballot for the Conservatives.
Which brings us to the Judy factor – the return of Judy Higginbotham, whose 25 past years as a city councillor in Surrey make her the most recognizable name on the ballot. She has thrown her lot in with Sturko’s CentreBC team this time out.
While it seems unlikely that CentreBC can claim the riding, Higginbotham could surprise us – and she certainly stands to claim enough votes to make a difference to somebody’s night. But would she be siphoning off support from Sahota? Or Kang? Or neither?
There’s also a OneBC candidate on the ballot. Todd Holowchak, and the Freedom Party’s Errol Povah, to presumably draw support from the right side of the spectrum.
Call this one undecided.
8:10 p.m.
So how much difference will the Greens make in Surrey tonight?
Much has been made of the issue of vote-splitting in this election, as BC NDP leader David Eby made a pitch to “progressive” voters in the late stages of the campaign to send all their votes to the NDP rather than voting for the BC Greens.
But will the Greens factor in to the outcomes in Surrey?
Watch for their potential impact in ridings like Surrey-Panorama, where Jinny Sims of the BC NDP and Bryan Tepper of the BC Conservatives are back for a rematch. Last time, Tepper took the riding by just 263 votes. There was no Green candidate that time, however. This time, Nolen Scott is on the ballot for the Greens.
And keep an eye on Surrey-Cloverdale, where two newcomers are battling it out for the main contenders: Nicholas Cartmell for the Conservatives and Stephen Dooley for the NDP. With incumbent Elenore Sturko having gone over to CentreBC and switched to Surrey South, that leaves Cloverdale more open for change.
Pat McCutcheon is in the race for the BC Greens, so it’ll be interesting to watch McCutcheon’s numbers – and whether they do any harm to Dooley’s chances. Last time out McCutcheon took 5.4% of the vote, while NDP challenger Mike Starchuk took 45.56% – more combined than Sturko’s 48.31%.
No, Eby’s pleas notwithstanding, we can’t just assume that any BC Green voter would otherwise have been an NDP voter. But the question remains – and if there’s any riding in Surrey where the Green factor is likely in play, it’s this one.
8 p.m.
Polls have closed, and CentreBC leader Elenore Sturko has arrived at her party headquarters in South Surrey.
“I’m excited. I feel positive. We’re a brand-new party. It’s historic for CentreBC — the first time we’ve ever fielded any candidates in any election,” she said.
“For me to have gotten the privilege of being their leader through this time has been really exciting, rewarding, and I’m incredibly proud of the work that we’ve done as a team: 35 amazing candidates, and a fully costed platform that we are very proud of … just being able to to unite together as an organization and go through this momentous occasion.
“It goes for us beyond the seats we can win for ourselves, but really recognizing what it is we can fight for for British Columbians. And it feels really good.”
7:58 p.m.
With the polls about to close, let’s take a peek at some of the other close races we’ll be seeing in Surrey tonight.
Heading into the weekend, the poll tracking site 338Canada.com had three Surrey ridings listed as “toss-ups”: Surrey-Fleetwood, Surrey-Newton and Surrey City Centre.
If a provincial trend develops one way or another, these three ridings will likely follow suit. All three, as it happens, are currently orange – so if Eby is to prevent a blue wave, he needs these three ridings to stay in NDP hands.
Surrey-Fleetwood
Surrey-Fleetwood is currently held by Jagrup Brar of the B.C. NDP, who won by 753 votes over the Conservatives’ Avtar Gill last time out. This time, Jagrup Brar (not to be confused with CentreBC’s Paul Brar in the Battle of the Brars) is facing down the Conservatives’ Garry Purewal.
Add in the Greens’ Tim Binnema and OneBC’s Carolyn Hofbauer, and any small number of votes in one direction or another could make a difference.
Surrey-Newton
Surrey-Newton is also held by the NDP, in the person of Jessie Sunner – arguably the best positioned to thwart a potential Conservative sweep of the city. She’s facing Harj Dhaliwal of the Conservatives and Harman Preet Singh of CentreBC in a riding that she won fairly handily in 2024, with a 1,316-vote margin over the Conservatives’ Tegjot Bal. She’ll be hoping to repeat the feat tonight, but her margin may be less secure this time around.
Surrey City Centre
Also an NDP-held riding, incumbent Amna Shah captured a 232-vote win over the Conservatives’ Zeeshan Wahla in 2024. Shah and Wahla are back to duke it out – this time with CentreBC’s Raman Sharma and OneBC’s Oliver Wildfong present to add a little extra intrigue.
7:46 p.m.
With just 14 minutes left to go till the polls close, let’s take a look at a couple of the less-nailbiting races in Surrey, shall we?
SURREY-WHITE ROCK
If there’s one race that’s likely to be a bit of a snoozer, it’s probably this one. Surrey-White Rock is likely as close to a lock as it’s possible to be at this point.
Conservative incumbent Trevord Halford won handily last time, with 52.31% of the vote to NDP challenger Darryl Walker’s 45.29%. Libertarian Damyn Tassie was the only other challenger last time, snagging just 2.39% of the vote
Walker is back for a rematch, but it’s a much bigger race this time. In the mix are independent Kevin Diakiw, OneBC’s Amanda James, the BC Green Party’s Christine Kinnie, and Waqas Rana of CentreBC. It seems unlikely that any kind of momentum will develop in any direction other than the expected – which is to say, a Halford victory and one for the blue team.
SURREY NORTH
Blue, probably maybe? It’s not as sure of a sure thing as Surrey-White Rock, but Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal appears to hold the upper hand for the Conservatives in Surrey North. Dhaliwal carries the advantage of incumbency into a battle with the BC NDP’s Sahib Thind.
To be sure, there are other candidates in the race – but Tanya Gupta of OneBC, Yudhbir Gill of the BC Greens, Parm Bhandol of CentreBC and the unaffiliated candidate Jag Bhandari seem likely to be distant also-rans. And any vote-splitting among that many others is likely to come out as no harm, no foul to the two main contenders.
Let’s see how these ridings look once poll numbers start reporting back.
7:30 p.m.
When all eyes are on Surrey, what’s a news team to do?
We’ll be covering as much of Surrey as possible tonight. Reporters are out on the road wherever we can find candidates – although making plans to connect with candidates has proven to be a little more difficult than usual.
We’re told our local NDP candidates are at the Team Eby party downtown and not expected to be back in Surrey until later this evening, when they’re being “encouraged” to join a local banquet hall watch party in Newton. (As of 7:30, it’s still quiet, but we’re hoping the action will pick up soon.)
Conservative candidates are in a number of places this evening, and we’ll be working to track them down at campaign offices and banquet halls; again, several are not expected to be seen locally but will appear at the Team Doerkson party in downtown Vancouver.
All that said, there are a couple of ridings of particular interest where all eyes will most definitely be focused tonight:
SURREY-GUILDFORD
It’s the Battle of the Garrys in this riding, which was won by the narrowest margin in the province last election when Garry Begg of the BC NDP edged Honveer Singh Randhawa of the BC Conservatives by just 22 votes (after a judicial recount and a court case).
It turned out to be a critical seat for NDP leader David Eby, as it was the 47th NDP seat – the one needed for a majority government, albeit the most razor-thin of majorities.
“Landslide” Garry Begg, as Eby dubbed him after the win, returns to face down a new Conservative challenger: Garry Thind.
Making it all the more interesting, Thind just got re-elected to the Surrey school board in last weekend’s municipal elections. Which means that, if he wins tonight … well, Surrey will likely be heading back to the polls again, because a byelection will be required to fill that seat.
SURREY SOUTH
This generally right-leaning riding has a pair of big names battling each other tonight: former White Rock mayor Megan Knight, who withdrew from the mayoral race to contest the seat for the B.C. Conservatives; and CentreBC leader Elenore Sturko, who’s hoping to carve a path to a seat in the legislature for the party that’s billed as a centrist alternative to the Conservatives.
Knight has the Conservative machine on her side – and if there’s a blue wave, the momentum may just be too much for Sturko to overcome.
In what’s broadly being perceived as a two-party race on a provincial level, it seems likely many voters will be choosing based on party rather than person. But, on the local level, Sturko is well-known, well-spoken and generally well-regarded, so if there’s an underdog story in the making, it could just happen here.
This riding could have been even a little bit more wild had former MLA Brent Chapman (who won the riding handily for the Conservatives in 2024) actually remained in the race for OneBC. But since Chapman pulled out, it’s become more of a two-woman fight.
That said, Parik Tahlan is also in the race for the BC NDP. For reference, the NDP’s Haroon Ghaffar captured 41.17% of the vote last time in a two-person matchup against Chapman, despite all the controversy surrounding Chapman at the time. It would be an unexpected turn of events for the NDP to make inroads on the riding. But then, this is B.C. – and theoretically, if Knight and Sturko were to split the centre-right vote, anything could happen.
Then again, it seems more likely Sturko could “steal” some votes from more centrist-left voters who might otherwise choose the NDP, if she looks like the best option to defeat the Conservatives for those who are so inclined.
Popcorn-worthy all around.
7:10 p.m.
Welcome to Battleground Surrey.
It’s our night in the spotlight as the tug-of-war between blue and orange unfolds live on the south side of the Fraser River.
Heading into today, six of Surrey’s 10 ridings were held by the Conservatives, and four by the NDP.
It’s likely that will change tonight – although it may take a little time to get the results.
Because of the snap election call, Elections BC says it will need to hand-count some ballots cast on Saturday.
This means it could take longer than it did in 2024 to get a final result.
“This is due to the short timeframes and complex operational logistics of a snap election,” Elections BC told Black Press Media in a statement.
Electronic tabulators will be used for all early votes and votes cast directly at district electoral offices. Votes cast at other polling stations on election day itself, Saturday, Oct. 24, will be counted by hand.
Some initial numbers may come in quite early in the evening (mostly the advance votes counted by tabulator), but don’t expect the hand-counted numbers to start trickling in till more like 9 p.m.
Suffice it to say you should get your popcorn ready now, because Surrey could be in for a wild ride tonight.
7 p.m.
It’s no secret that Surrey has been a battleground throughout this provincial election campaign – and we’re just an hour away from the polls closing as the fight between David Eby’s BC NDP and Lorne Doerkson’s Conservative Party of B.C. comes to an end.
The Surrey Now-Leader, Peace Arch News and Cloverdale Reporter team is on the job tonight once again to bring you live updates throughout the evening from candidate gatherings and campaign headquarters.
Bookmark this spot and return throughout the evening.
If you haven’t voted yet, there’s still time – check out Election’s B.C.’s wheretovote.elections.bc.ca page to find your local polling station.
And if you’re not sure who to vote for? You can still check out our roundup of candidate questionnaires, with links to all 10 ridings in Surrey.
While you’re waiting for the results of the night, you can find some more coverage here:
• Party leaders love Surrey in final days of election campaign
• OPINION: B.C. leaders are rizzing up Surrey – but will they still love us tomorrow?
See our Elections tab for full coverage from throughout the campaign.
Happy voting, and here’s to democracy.