The municipal election in Lytton, B.C., has resulted in a tie between two mayoral candidates with differing views on the community’s recovery from a devastating wildfire that destroyed much of the village five years ago.
The results posted to the village’s website on Monday show Denise O’Connor, the incumbent, and challenger Jennifer Thoss each received 45 votes.
Thoss, who was elected as a councillor in 2022, has criticized the village’s handling of the recovery and rebuilding process after the wildfire in June 2021.
She told The Canadian Press last spring that more than $50 million in planned infrastructure funded largely by Ottawa would ultimately “bankrupt” the tiny village, where the shrunken tax base wouldn’t be able to sustain the operations costs.
Thoss said the facilities would be overbuilt for the community, while O’Connor said “dwelling on the negative” won’t help the town rebuild and the village can’t attract new and returning residents if lacks infrastructure and amenities.
The ballots from the Oct. 17 election will undergo a judicial recount and Lytton’s election procedures bylaw indicates that a tie would be resolved by drawing a lot.
A similar process unfolded in Peachland, B.C., in 2018, when an incumbent mayoral candidate and a challenger each received 804 votes.
A judge oversaw a recount that confirmed the tie, then drew a name out of a box and declared the incumbent, Cindy Fortin, would serve another four-year term.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2026.
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