Tragedy of festival deaths hangs over vote in British Columbia

Elections Canada signage is pictured near an advance polling station in Ottawa, on April 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

VANCOUVER — British Columbians are going to the polls today amid an outpouring of grief over an attack at a Filipino festival in Vancouver where 11 people were killed and dozens more were hurt on Saturday.

Mourners and politicians, including NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, attended a vigil Sunday night for the victims, who ranged in age from five to 65.

Singh said he had attended the Lapu Lapu Day festival but left just minutes before a man in an SUV mowed down people on a street lined with food trucks.

The three main political parties head into the federal election mostly balanced in B.C., but an expert says there could be a shakeup in the province at the end of the night.

There are 14 Liberal seats, 14 Conservatives, 12 NDP, a lone Green Party member and one vacant seat, but cratering poll numbers for the New Democrats mean many B.C. seats are up for grabs, and two federal party leaders could be out of a job by the end of the night.

Greg Millard, part of the political science faculty at B.C.’s Kwantlen Polytechnic University, says the province could be important in this election, perhaps not in deciding the overall winner, but in giving a government majority versus minority power.

Millard estimates there are more than a dozen tight races in the province that could “flip” as Singh’s NDP dropped in the polls amid an emerging narrative that this election was a choice between Mark Carney’s Liberals and the Conservatives led by Pierre Poilievre.

All three major party leaders spent a significant amount of time campaigning in B.C., something Millard says is common for an area that is considered a battleground.

He says the ballot issues in the province were similar to the rest of the country, including a focus on anxiety around U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats against Canada.

High housing costs were also a focus of those looking for votes, particularly in the expensive Lower Mainland, as well as concerns about crime in other voter-rich areas.

Both Singh’s Burnaby riding and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May’s Saanich—Gulf Islands seat are far from a sure thing.

“That is probably one of the big B.C. stories. Are these leaders going to survive? Jagmeet Singh, his riding is absolutely not safe at this point. Neither are many traditionally safe NDP seats,” Millard said in an interview Friday.

“I think Elizabeth May, a long-standing party leader, she too is in some jeopardy in Saanich—Gulf Islands. So, I think that’s a big story. Will B.C. be the end of the line for two of the leaders of two smaller parties?”

Advance voting turnout in B.C. was among the strongest in Canada, with about 30 per cent of the province’s electors casting ballots early, based on registration numbers for last year’s provincial vote.

More than 1.1 million people in B.C. voted in advance polls, up about 35 per cent from 2021.

This report by Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2025.