NDP’s bid for 4th term is far from a slam dunk
For Eby and the NDP, the decision to call a snap election is the ultimate risk-reward decision.
Since the 2024 election that saw the NDP re-elected by a slim margin, Eby’s approval ratings in polls have been on a general downward trend.
Political parties in their third term often face struggles with voters, and the NDP — after nine years in power — have been no different, with record deficits and Eby’s back-and-forth on B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act particular points of contention.
When you consider that political parties have a mixed record when they call snap elections, the risk is obvious.
On the other hand, the NDP believes the uncertainty with the opposition Conservative Party provides a unique opening. The escalating trade war with the United States is on the top of mind for the party, and they’ve found their slim majority in the legislature has made it difficult to move quickly on legislation. And they believe they have a winning domestic policy issue in health care, where the province has added a large number of doctors in the last two years.
Eby weighed all of that in the weeks leading up to this announcement. It will now be up to voters to weigh whether they want to give the NDP a fourth term in power.
In their own messaging, the Conservatives quickly leaned into a strategy of appealing to voters’ potential appetite for new leadership.
“I think David Eby is going to regret this. It’s because this election actually offers an opportunity for hope and for real change,” said Doerkson, the Conservatives’ new interim leader.
“British Columbians need viable governing alternatives to the NDP chaos that we have seen so that we can rebuild British Columbia into a place we all deserve.”