The results from Richmond’s two ridings ended up reflecting the two-horse race that was the 2025 federal election.
In 2021, both ridings flipped from Conservative to Liberal, but this time it was an even split between the Conservatives and Liberals.
Like the overall results in Canada, the NDP saw its support crater in the two local ridings amid much higher voter turnout.
Conservative candidate Chak Au ousted Liberal incumbent Wilson Miao in Richmond Centre-Marpole but Liberal incumbent Parm Bains managed to hold his seat by beating his Conservative challenger Zach Segal.
Au, who is a current Richmond city councillor, told the Richmond News on election night he was “humbled” at the result. He beat Miao by about 5.5 per cent.
Bains, on the other hand, had to wait until late into the night for a definitive result before coming to greet his supporters at the former Steveston Hardware building where some of his younger supporters were practicing their football throws while waiting.
When he joined his supporters and campaign team after 11 p.m., he thanked voters for giving him a second term, saying he was “truly, truly grateful.”
The two NDP candidates, Keefer Pelech in Richmond East-Steveston and Martin Li in Richmond Centre-Marpole, saw their results reflect a national trend of tanking fortunes for the left-leaning party.
Pelech’s percentage of the vote was 4.2 per cent (2,245 votes), while Li garnered 4.4 per cent (2,109 votes).
Overall, in Canada, the NDP captured 6.3 per cent of the vote and their seat count dropped from 22 to seven.
Jack Trovato, who ran for the NDP in 2021 in the (then-named) Steveston Richmond-East riding, received 20 per cent of the vote (4,711 votes).
In the (then-named) Richmond Centre riding, NDP candidate Sandra Nixon garnered more than 18 per cent of the vote in the 2021 federal election.
Overall voter turnout, however, his time around in both ridings was significantly higher than in 2021.
Just over 57 per cent of registered voters in the Steveston Richmond-East riding cast a ballot, compared to the 2021 election when voter turnout was 31.4 per cent.
The turnout in Richmond Centre-Marpole was even higher, with about 63.5 per cent of registered voters marking their ballots. This compares to a turnout of about 46.2 per cent in 2021.
Municipal byelection could be triggered in Richmond
If Au, who is a sitting Richmond city councillor, resigns his council position during this calendar year, it will trigger a municipal byelection.
The News has reached out to Au to ask about his plans, but he has not responded as of publication.
Au is currently the chair of the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Committee and belongs to several other council committees.
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