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B.C. NDP Leader David Eby speaks to supporters during a provincial election campaign stop in Campbell River, on Sunday. This is the first election since 1991 in which one of the province’s top two competing parties has not fielded a full slate.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
The B.C. NDP has fallen one candidate short of fielding a provincewide slate in this month’s snap election, one of a handful of surprises revealed after nominations closed Saturday.
The final list, published Sunday by Elections BC, consists of 355 candidates vying for seats in the Oct. 24 vote, with 340 representing 10 political parties and 15 candidates running as independents or unaffiliated.
The Conservative Party of B.C. is running 93 candidates, covering every provincial riding; the NDP, 92; and the B.C. Green Party, 73. CentreBC and OneBC, both formed in 2025, have nominated 35 and 33 candidates, respectively.
The weekend deadline caps a hurried nomination period triggered by NDP Leader David Eby’s snap election call on Sept. 22 and marked by considerable political tumult, including defections, infighting and party-switching on the right, and frustration over the early vote. Candidate vetting remained a flashpoint Sunday as Mr. Eby questioned the Conservatives’ choices while unveiling a plan to raise taxes on B.C.’s highest earners.
This is the first election since 1991 in which one of B.C.’s top two competing parties has not fielded a full slate. It is also the first election since B.C.’s Election Act was enacted in 1995 that a major political party is running under an interim leader, after Lorne Doerkson replaced Kerry-Lynne Findlay to head the Conservatives following her resignation on Sept. 20.
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B.C. NDP campaign director Cheryl Oates attributed the party’s absence from the Peace River North ballot to incomplete paperwork. Incumbent Jordan Kealy, who was elected under the Conservative banner in 2024 and quit to sit as an independent last year, will face Conservative Curtis Whitford. Mr. Kealy, who was charged with sexual assault in June for offences alleged to have occurred in 2024, has maintained his innocence and is awaiting trial by jury.
Asked about the NDP’s absence from the Peace River North ballot at a campaign stop in Comox, Mr. Eby said it was disappointing that paperwork problems prevented a great candidate from going forward before contrasting the NDP’s approach to recruitment with that of the Conservatives.
“We certainly would never run people with hateful views, conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers, MAGA apologists, in order to fill out our slate like the Conservatives are doing,” Mr. Eby said.
He referenced a CTV Question Period interview with Mr. Doerkson that aired that morning, in which the interim Conservative leader is questioned about Chilliwack North candidate Heather Maahs, who appeared to conflate homosexuality and pedophilia in past comments. Ms. Maahs, who is seeking re-election, also invited to a 2025 reception at the B.C. Legislature a Christian lobby group that believes homosexuality is immoral, abortion should be banned and Canada’s ban on conversion therapy should be repealed.
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Mr. Doerkson said he did not share Ms. Maah’s views but that she would remain in caucus.
In response to Mr. Eby’s comments, the Conservative Party said it is proud of its 93 candidates and that the party, under Mr. Doerkson, will treat every British Columbian with respect and dignity.
“The NDP called a cynical snap election that only they knew was coming and they still couldn’t run a full slate,” said Alex Shiff, the party’s director of media relations, in a statement to The Globe and Mail.
The final candidate list also reveals some last-minute twists, with some final plans differing from what parties had signalled just days earlier.
Brent Chapman, who on Sept. 22 quit the Conservative caucus to join OneBC, citing the attacks on his wife, Ms. Findlay, is now missing from the list.
Asked by The Globe about Mr. Chapman’s absence from the ballot, OneBC said Sunday that a statement was forthcoming, but none arrived by deadline.
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As well, OneBC Leader Dallas Brodie had initially pledged not to challenge eight “principled conservatives” in tight races before reversing course days later in two of those contests: North Island, held by Anna Kindy, and Kelowna Centre, held by Kristina Loewen. However, the final list shows no OneBC Candidate in the North Island riding.
OneBC did not directly answer a question from The Globe about the reversal in that riding and instead pointed broadly to its strained relationship with the Conservatives.
“When it comes to dealing with the Conservatives, the instability inside the party, combined with their inability to remain consistent on any of their principles, has made it impossible to have a productive engagement with them,” the party’s campaign team said in an e-mail.
On the campaign trail Sunday, Mr. Eby announced a plan to raise income taxes on B.C.’s highest earners to fund health care improvements and measures aimed at lowering costs for British Columbians. The plan, which would start in the 2027 tax year, would increase rates on the top two tax brackets by 2 percentage points and introduce a new 24.5-per-cent bracket for income of more than $1-million, generating up to $1-billion in 2028-29, Mr. Eby said.
The changes would affect the top 4 per cent of earners in B.C. and apply only to income earned over each tax bracket threshold. Those earning $190,000 or less would see no change.