BC Conservative interim Leader Lorne Doerkson speaks on stage during provincial election night in Vancouver, on Saturday. He pledges to boost the economy, cut red tape and freeze all provincial taxes.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
British Columbia has elected a Conservative majority government for the first time in nearly a century, delivering a remarkable reversal of fortunes to a party that entered the campaign after months of internal conflict and controversies that threatened to derail its path to power.
David Eby resigned as leader of the NDP, accepting responsibility for the outcome of an election he called two years early. His high-stakes gamble to take advantage of a fractured opposition backfired; with more than 99 per cent of polls reporting, the results showed 64 Conservatives elected, 27 for the NDP and two for the Greens.
Five takeaways from B.C.’s election
In a sombre concession speech, Mr. Eby reflected on his government’s accomplishments in recruiting family doctors, helping to lower rents and raising the minimum wage.
“This is obviously something I do with a very heavy heart,” he said to supporters at his party’s gathering in Vancouver. “But it is time for new leadership within our party.”
The Conservatives appeared to be on the verge of collapse just weeks ago under the weight of scandal, defections and bitter internal rivalries, but regrouped just as Mr. Eby called the election.
The victory ends nine years of NDP rule – four under Mr. Eby – and puts the Conservatives in control of a province facing mounting economic uncertainty, persistent strains in health care services and a continuing trade war with the U.S.
Lorne Doerkson didn’t plan on leading the BC Conservatives, but he’s trying to meet the moment
Mr. Eby said in his concession speech that he had spoken with Conservative interim leader and premier-designate Lorne Doerkson, wishing him the best at a critical time for the province and country.
“The people of British Columbia have asked us to be the Official Opposition, which is obviously not the result any of us wanted,” he said. “A number of my colleagues, some of the hardest working MLAs I know for their communities, were not elected tonight. It breaks my heart, and I accept full responsibility for that outcome.”
In his victory speech, Mr. Doerkson thanked Mr. Eby and summarized his campaign pledges, which included boosting the economy, cutting red tape and freezing all provincial taxes.
Outgoing NDP Leader David Eby told supporters he takes responsibility for losing Saturday’s snap election to the Conservatives. Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson says he’ll follow through on campaign promises to supercharge the province’s economy.
The Canadian Press
“I want a B.C. where a hard-day’s work gets you a family home and a future right here in this beautiful province,” he said.
“And I want to say to those who aren’t in this room: There is a place for you here. Bring your ideas, bring your families, bring your ambitions and somebody will pick up the phone in British Columbia.”
As large sparks shot out of several small cannons behind him, Mr. Doerkson detailed how his government will jump-start the economy by tripling natural-gas production over the next nine years and holding an international investment summit in Vancouver.
He repeated his pledge to cut taxes and red tape and to support health care that is “fully and publicly funded.”
Mr. Doerkson has said that repealing the province’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act would be among his top priorities, arguing that it has created needless division. Indigenous leaders have been opposed to any changes to the legislation.
Mr. Doerkson addressed Indigenous people directly in his speech Saturday night.
“To our First Nations: This future is one we will build together as partners with the certainty all of us need,” he said.
“First Nations built lives and nations here for thousands of years.”
But he also told the crowd, to cheers, that he believed “in the protection of private-property rights and parks that are open to all British Columbians.”
Recent court rulings in favour of Indigenous groups have made those issues a centrepiece of Conservative commentary in the province.
Green Party Leader Emily Lowan was elected in the Vancouver Island riding of Saanich North and the Islands, while Green MLA Jeremy Valeriote was re-elected in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky.
“We may have a small caucus, but tonight we have inherited an enormous responsibility and that is to hold the majority Conservative government to account,” Ms. Lowan said in her victory speech.
“Over the next four years, our job is to be a voice for the many people who will be harmed by their policies – and that is going to require some serious movement building.”
David Eby speaks on stage at the New Democratic Party provincial election night party in Vancouver. In his speech, Mr. Eby said he ‘accepts full responsibility’ for the outcome of the snap election.Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters
Mr. Eby had said he called the election early because he wanted the NDP to win a strong mandate to fix a legislature that “wasn’t working.” A one-seat majority had left his government mired in procedural wrangling, he said, and forced some of his MLAs to vote from hospital beds while dying of cancer or hours after giving birth.
The “existential threat” posed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war made a strong mandate even more important, he said.
“The government’s focus was on just doing whatever we could to make sure the government didn’t fall, because the Conservatives voted 13 times to collapse the government, including just three weeks after the [2024] election,” Mr. Eby said on the campaign trail Oct. 16.
Mr. Eby also pointed to a Conservative Party whose members were found to have espoused racist, homophobic and otherwise unacceptable views with alarming frequency and said it was never a bad idea for British Columbians to choose the party they wanted to lead the province.
Some of the MLAs he named were re-elected on Saturday.
The Decibel: David Eby’s B.C. election gamble
The 2024 election returned 47 New Democrats, 44 Conservatives and two Green MLAs. When the legislature was dissolved last month, the Conservatives were down to 29 seats, officially.
However, Mr. Eby’s early election call was met with cynicism, seen as an opportunistic move intended to capitalize on an opposition in disarray.
After the polarizing Kerry-Lynne Findlay narrowly won the Conservative leadership in late May, the party was plagued by scandal and bitter infighting; 13 MLAs either quit or were removed, all in clashes with Ms. Findlay. Many went to the nascent CentreBC party – which branded itself as a fiscally conservative, socially progressive alternative – raising questions about vote-splitting on the right that would have further increased the likelihood of an NDP re-election.
BC Green Party Leader Emily Lowan arrives to address supporters on election night in Brentwood Bay, B.C. She said her party’s small caucus has ‘inherited an enormous responsibility’ to hold the Conservative government to account.Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press
At the height of caucus conflict, the Conservatives were down to just 24 MLAs – 20 fewer than were elected in 2024.
NDP MLA and cabinet minister Adrian Dix, re-elected in his riding of Vancouver-Kingsway, called Saturday’s result one of the most disappointing nights in the modern history of the BC NDP.
“Clearly, given the results, it was a mistake to call the election,” he told reporters.
NDP MLA and cabinet minister Bowinn Ma, re-elected in North Vancouver-Lonsdale, said she understood and agreed with Mr. Eby’s snap election call.
“The election results tonight are quite different than they were just two years ago, which I would say demonstrates it was a question worth asking British Columbians,” she told reporters.
Ms. Ma noted that Mr. Eby has the opportunity to continue to serve in the legislature, citing the party tradition that saw Carole James and Mr. Dix do so after leading the party to defeat.
North Island-Powell River Conservative MP Aaron Gunn, who had helped to reanimate the moribund Conservative Party after the BC Liberals denied him the opportunity to enter their leadership race, said he was in disbelief at the role he played in moving the province further to the right on a host of issues.
“That might have been the spark that lit the flame that made the fire that led to this day, but a lot of people have played a huge role in this,” he said at the Conservatives’ gathering. “It’s been a lot of hard work.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney congratulated Mr. Doerkson on his victory in a social-media post.
“I look forward to working with you as Premier to get more homes built, unleash our full potential as an energy superpower, and build a stronger British Columbia and a stronger Canada for all,” Mr. Carney said.
Elections BC reported that less than half of eligible voters in British Columbia – 48 per cent – turned out to vote. It was the lowest voter turnout since 1996, the earliest date listed on the agency’s website.