Politics · Canada · 1 hr ago
British Columbians vote in a close provincial election
Voters in British Columbia are choosing a government in an early provincial election on Oct.
24.
Premier David Eby called the vote on Sept.
22, cutting short his term and making the timing a campaign issue.
Eby leads the New Democratic Party, which has governed the province for nine years and won a slim majority in the last election.
The Conservatives changed leaders shortly before the campaign, when Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned and Lorne Doerkson took over.
Polls put the NDP and Conservatives in a close race, with some showing the Conservatives slightly ahead.
Eby says he needs a majority mandate to make major changes, while voters will decide which party governs next.
British Columbians voted on Saturday in a closely contested provincial election that could unseat NDP Premier David Eby.
Pre-election polls showed the NDP and B.C. Conservatives statistically tied or the Conservatives slightly ahead.
The election will choose 93 members of the legislature, with more than 350 candidates running.
Eby called the snap election two years before the end of his term, a decision that became a campaign issue.
Conservative interim leader Lorne Doerkson, a former newspaper publisher and two-term MLA, was a relatively little-known challenger.
- Who
- British Columbian voters are choosing among more than 350 candidates, including NDP Premier David Eby and Conservative interim leader Lorne Doerkson.
- What
- A provincial election to choose 93 members of the legislature.
- When
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. Polling stations were scheduled to open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time.
- Where
- British Columbia, Canada.
- Why
- Voters are electing the province’s next government. Eby called a snap election two years early, saying he needed a majority mandate to deliver major changes.
NDP under David Eby
B.C. Conservatives under Lorne Doerkson
Election timing
NDP under David Eby
Eby said he needed the stability of a majority mandate to make the major changes the province needed.
B.C. Conservatives under Lorne Doerkson
The sources do not state the Conservatives’ view of why the election was called.
Prospects in the vote
NDP under David Eby
Eby’s NDP was seeking to remain in power after governing for nine years.
B.C. Conservatives under Lorne Doerkson
The Conservatives were seeking to take power, with pre-election polls showing them tied with or slightly ahead of the NDP.
Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned after four months in the role, and Lorne Doerkson replaced her that day.
Eby called the provincial election, two days after Doerkson became interim Conservative leader.
British Columbians headed to the polls to elect 93 members of the legislature.
- Legislature seats
- 93
- Candidates
- More than 350
- Polling hours
- 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time
- NDP government tenure
- Nine years
- Eby’s election call
- Sept. 22, 2026
6 sources
B.C. election: How a little-known interim Conservative leader could become premier today
British Columbians vote in early election, with David Eby's job on the line
Voters head to the polls for B.C. provincial election
David Eby’s surprise B.C. election culminates in narrow race between NDP, Conservatives
What people are saying
At that point, you just don’t call it and you would have a perfectly good excuse: ‘It’s not a responsible thing to call an election when there’s so much disarray in the main opposition, we’re going to give them a chance to catch their breath.’
The No. 1 question that people ask me is why are we having an election. … Look. I get it. I know that people have a lot going on. I know they didn’t want an election right now. I hear the frustration and I understand it,
big swings
Posts on X
David Eby’s cynical snap election was totally unnecessary. What is necessary is the need for a change of government in BC. Record deficits, fleeing investment capital, credit downgrade after downgrade. It’s time for BC to elect a serious government committed to fiscal
A ROUGH EBY INTERVIEW: Eby asked if he regrets his early election call, given how it's gone. Eby says he regrets not explaining to British Columbians.