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B.C. Premier David Eby is joined by his wife Dr. Cailey Lynch as he announces a snap election during a press conference at Government House in Victoria, on Tuesday.Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press
B.C. Premier David Eby has called a snap provincial election two years ahead of schedule, saying he needs a strong mandate to meet the “existential moment” brought on by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.
The timing of the call has fuelled accusations of political opportunism, coming after weeks of turmoil within the opposition Conservative Party of B.C., which has seen an exodus of MLAs, the resignation of leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay and the rise of a fledgling centre-right rival, CentreBC.
Spurred by Tuesday’s news, those two parties announced that seven of CentreBC’s eight MLAs would rejoin the Conservatives to run under that party’s banner. Interim B.C. Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson, named to the role the day prior, said he will lead the party through the campaign.
Mr. Eby, leader of the provincial NDP, announced the snap election on Tuesday outside the Victoria residence of Lieutenant-Governor Wendy Cocchia, who accepted his request to dissolve the legislature, formally setting in motion an election campaign. The vote will be held on Oct. 24.
Reporters at Government House questioned the ethics of calling the election at a time when the Conservatives are without a permanent leader.
“They’ve had four leaders in two years, they’ve been in chaos since the last election and that actually is the offering of the Conservatives to British Columbians: chaos, division, culture war, acquiescence, giving up, cuts,” Mr. Eby replied. “It is an embarrassing, pale vision of what British Columbia could be.”
Asked whether an overlapping provincial campaign could cause confusion ahead of B.C.’s Oct. 17 municipal elections, Mr. Eby said he has confidence in voters’ ability to navigate both, and that escalating threats from the U.S. administration were top of mind for British Columbians.
Two of Mr. Eby’s most prominent cabinet ministers, Lana Popham and Ravi Kahlon, have announced they will not seek re-election.
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A North Vancouver intersection featuring several electoral campaign lawn signs on Monday.Justine Beaulieu-Poudrier/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Eby’s decision to seek a new mandate, despite his party holding a slim majority in the legislature, comes after a turbulent period for the NDP, whose public support had eroded earlier this year as British Columbians grappled with strained health care services, affordability pressures, and increasingly charged debates over Aboriginal title, private property rights and the province’s Indigenous-rights legislation.
The government has also faced mounting criticism for Mr. Eby’s handling of the province’s finances. Earlier this month, the Finance Minister estimated the budget deficit for 2026-27 would be $13.8-billion, $450-million higher than previous estimates in part due to a calculation error in the government’s natural-gas revenue projections.
The provincial debt has risen sharply under Mr. Eby. B.C. is expected to spend a little more than six cents of every dollar in revenue servicing its debt this year, up from about 2.5 cents four years ago. The province’s deteriorating finances have prompted repeated credit-rating downgrades; Moody’s, S&P Global and Morningstar DBRS have all lowered B.C.’s rating in recent years, increasing borrowing costs.
Asked about his government’s fiscal record on Tuesday, Mr. Eby touted the $100-billion in major B.C. projects that are reaching final investment decisions over the next two years. He cited as an example Canadian developer Osisko Gold Group’s $1-billion investment in the Cariboo Gold Mine project north of Prince George, a community struggling with the impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs on softwood lumber.
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On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Doerkson held a news conference in Vancouver to welcome seven CentreBC MLAs back into the fold, including Peter Milobar, a former Conservative dissident who was made CentreBC’s new leader last Friday.
Flanked by more than a dozen MLAs at the Downtown Eastside’s waterfront CRAB Park, Mr. Doerkson struck a triumphant tone at having reunited a party that had seen extensive infighting and members leave amid explosive allegations of unethical dealings by the former party leadership. He said the Conservatives “have a lively caucus,” when asked if the party will continue to focus on “culture war” issues.
“Today, we are strong, unified, and ready to bring change that B.C. so desperately needs – that is what our team stands for,” he said.
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B.C. Conservative Party leader Lorne Doerkson gestures after responding to Premier David Eby’s snap election call, at Crab Park on the waterfront of Vancouver, Tuesday.Chris Helgren/Reuters
Asked what his party’s top priority would be if it forms government, Mr. Doerkson said he will repeal the provincial Indigenous reconciliation law, but committed to combatting the anti-Indigenous racism that has at times accompanied the debate over land rights.
Despite the mass flight of its members, CentreBC will still aim to be a force in the campaign.
Elenore Sturko, who was booted from the Conservative caucus last September by former leader John Rustad and joined CentreBC last week, was appointed that party’s leader on Tuesday.
Ms. Sturko, a former RCMP officer who is gay, told The Globe and Mail that she could not rejoin the Conservatives because too many of their members hold bigoted and conspiratorial views. She is now CentreBC’s lone MLA and said the party plans to run many other candidates.
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“I don’t believe that the NDP should be given another chance to govern – especially not with a large majority – and I also don’t trust the Conservatives not to take advantage of a power position in order to bring forward a lunatic’s agenda on social issues,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ms. Findlay’s bid to win a by-election in the riding of Abbotsford-Mission this weekend and join the legislature has been nullified by the election call. Ms. Findlay did not return a request for comment Tuesday, but Mr. Doerkson confirmed she will not be running for the Conservatives.
Brent Chapman, the Conservative MLA for Surrey South and Ms. Findlay’s husband, announced Tuesday that he had left that party to join OneBC, which is further to the right on the political spectrum. OneBC’s leader, Dallas Brodie, was expelled from the Conservative caucus by Mr. Rustad in March, 2025, for her views on residential schools, including her mockery of survivors.
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B.C. Green Leader Emily Lowan, whose party had two MLAs in the last legislature, hammered Mr. Eby for forcing voters to the polls early, saying his government’s primary ambition has been to hold on to power. She criticized the NDP for its cancellation of the $1.4-billion Community Housing Fund, and accused the party of issuing a “firehose of public subsidies to U.S. resource corporations,” refusing to negotiate in good faith with unions and mismanaging the province’s health care system.
An Angus Reid Institute poll released in June put Mr. Eby’s approval rating at 31 per cent – down 22 percentage points from a high of 53 per cent in March, 2025.
Yet, Mr. Eby’s approval has rebounded. In its latest poll, released last week, Angus Reid found that 41 per cent of respondents approved of the NDP Leader, a jump the polling organization said may be attributable to his stand against Mr. Trump.