British Columbians already heading to the polls for municipal elections on Oct. 17 will be voting again just a week later. B.C. Premier David Eby met with Lt.-Gov. Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia Tuesday morning to ask her to dissolve the legislature and call a snap provincial election. Voting day will be Saturday, Oct. 24. The move follows weeks of speculation that Eby would call an election to take advantage of discord among the Opposition Conservative Party of B.C., which saw its controversial leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay resign Sunday after less than four months and more than a dozen MLA departures from her caucus. Follow along for live updates below. Eby brushes off criticism The premier’s election call violates what one political scientist has described as a “gentleman’s agreement” not to launch a campaign while an opposition party is without an official leader. The B.C. Conservatives appointed MLA Lorne Doerkson as interim leader late Sunday night after the resignation of Kerry-Lynne Findlay—whose tumultuous tenure saw more than a dozen MLAs leave the party. Eby dismissed allegations that his decision was an unethical or opportunistic attempt to take advantage of the current state of his opponents. “They’ve had four leaders in two years, they’ve been in chaos since the last election,” Eby said. “That actually is the offering of the Conservative party to British Columbians: chaos, division, culture war, acquiescence, giving up, cuts. It is an embarrassing, pale. pale vision of what British Columbia could be.” Lisa Steacy, CTVNewsVancouver.ca Vancouver mayor slams snap election Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC party slammed Eby’s decision to call a provincial election while campaigns for municipal elections across B.C. are already underway. “British Columbia has separate election cycles for a reason. That principle shouldn’t be set aside because the timing looks politically convenient,” Sim said in a statement issued shortly after the announcement. “If an election is coming regardless, what is the harm in waiting 25 days until Vancouver and every other community in this province has finished voting? There is no version of this where calling it now, instead of after Oct. 17, serves anyone but the governing party’s own interest.” At the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention last week, local representatives passed a motion asking the province to avoid overlapping election campaigns. Kaija Jussinoja, CTVNewsVancouver.ca Eby says election is about Trump While the NDP’s opposition in the Oct. 24 election remains largely amorphous, Eby is choosing to campaign instead against the U.S. president. “Donald Trump is attacking our workers,” Eby said Tuesday, moments after calling the snap election. “He’s targeting our businesses, and he is threatening our sovereignty. He’s threatening our ability to make decisions for ourselves.” The premier compared the election call to preparing for a wildfire, drawing on the province’s disastrous experience in recent months. “Even if you never expected the fire to reach you, even if you thought it will never come to our community, when you smell smoke, you don’t sit and wait to see what happens next,” he said. “You act, you prepare. You cut a line through the forest so the fire can’t spread to your community. You build a firebreak, and that is exactly what we need to do now.” Eby said the objective of his government is ultimately to make B.C.’s economy and essential services less vulnerable to decisions made in the U.S. “Because this fire isn’t staying on the other side of the border, it’s reaching into our communities,” he said. Eby accused B.C.’s conservative opposition parties of trying to import “MAGA-style politics” and “chaos and cuts” into the province. Todd Coyne, CTVNewsVancouver.ca Brent Chapman leaves B.C. Conservatives, joins OneBC In the leadup to an expected snap election call and on the heels of the ouster of his wife as leader of the B.C. Conservative Party—MLA Brent Chapman announced he is leaving the Opposition. Chapman is joining OneBC—which does not have official party status in the legislature and has been beset by controversy and accusations of extremism since its inception. The Surrey South MLA said the party he was asked to run for in the last election by then-leader John Rustad is now unrecognizable to him. “I do not know exactly what the future holds, but I have to hold true to the principles that brought me here in the first place. I know that I cannot continue as part of this party,” he wrote. “The last few months have also made this deeply personal for me. I have watched my wife, Kerry-Lynne, endure attacks from people she once stood beside. I have watched people determined to tear down someone who has spent decades serving her community, her province, and her country.” Lisa Steacy, CTVNewsVancouver.ca Right-wing parties in ongoing talks Interim B.C. Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson said negotiations between his party and CentreBC went late Monday night and continued Tuesday morning. Eby’s expected election call has prompted efforts to reunify the province’s political right, though some experts have suggested that outcome is unlikely after months of ideological tension between the more populist and moderate wings. “The basis for unity between these two groups just doesn’t exist anymore,” Hamish Telford, political science professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, told CTV News on Monday. Last week, eight former Conservative MLAs who had defected or been expelled from the party joined the fledging CentreBC, positioning it to be the third-largest party in the legislature overnight. Andrew Weichel, CTVNewsVancouver.ca Election fatigue? If Premier David Eby calls a snap election on Tuesday, British Columbians will be heading to the polls for the fourth time in just two years. Eby was elected with a majority government on Oct. 19, 2024, securing a third consecutive term in government for the B.C. NDP. Just days shy of a year later, British Columbians returned to the polls for a federal election that resulted in a Liberal government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney. Less than a year later, voters in B.C. are once again preparing to cast ballots—this time in provincewide municipal elections on Oct. 17. And if Eby calls a snap provincial election on Tuesday, voters would be back at the ballot box just one week later, on Oct. 24. Todd Coyne, CTVNewsVancouver.ca B.C. NDP calls out Opposition for past election threats Ahead of what could prove to be a controversial snap election call, B.C.’s governing party is cataloguing previous comments made by the Opposition about sending voters to the polls early. The first statement came “the minute the polls closed,” according to the B.C. NDP, which referenced an election-night quote from then-leader of the B.C. Conservatives John Rustad. “We will look at every single opportunity from day one to bring them down,” Rustad said. The B.C. NDP’s statement also referenced non-confidence motions and subsequent comments from Opposition legislators about forcing an early election to topple Eby’s government. Lisa Steacy, CTVNewsVancouver.ca Eby arrives at Government House Premier David Eby has arrived at Government House where he is expected to set a snap election in progress by asking Lt.-Gov. Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia to dissolve the legislature. He did not respond to questions asked by media gathered outside—including one from CTV News Vancouver legislative reporter Rob Buffam who asked whether it is ethical to call a snap election at this time. Eby holding news conference B.C. Premier David Eby is holding a news conference at 12:15 p.m. and is widely expected to call a provincial election. Eby will be speaking at Government House—the office and residence of Lt.-Gov. Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia in Victoria—at 12:15 p.m., according to a media advisory issued by the B.C. NDP hours ahead of the event. Before sending voters back to the polls, Eby would have to meet with the lieutenant governor and advise her to dissolve the legislature. An election called today would send voters to the polls on Saturday, Oct. 24, which advanced voting happening Oct. 16 through 21, according to Elections B.C. Andrew Weichel, CTVNewsVancouver.ca Conservative interim leader cancels address B.C. Conservative Party interim Leader Lorne Doerkson was scheduled to hold a news conference in Richmond on Tuesday, but cancelled it due to the looming possibility of an election call. Doerkson took over as leader after Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s resignation on Sunday, less than four months into her tenure at the head of the party. Findlay’s tumultuous time in charge saw more than a dozen MLAs leave or be expelled from the party’s caucus. Some of the defectors joined the upstart CentreBC party. Since taking over the Conservatives, Doerkson has welcomed back several members as the party tries to present a united front ready to defeat Eby’s NDP. Ian Holliday, CTVNewsVancouver.ca Municipal leaders urge premier not to call election At a news conference Monday, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim urged the provincial government not to call an early election until after municipal voting on Oct. 17, saying the municipal election deserves the “full, undivided attention” of residents. Sim’s far from alone in this perspective. Ahead of Eby’s appearance at Government House Tuesday, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke issued a statement criticizing the expected election call and asking voters to remain engaged in local politics. “Calling a provincial election during the municipal election makes it that much harder to reach voters when turnout during municipal elections is already much lower than federal or provincial elections,” Locke said. “It seems the provincial election will be going ahead at this point, so I am calling on all voters across Surrey and B.C. to stay engaged and informed during this confusing period.” During the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference last week, the organization’s president Cori Ramsay called on provincial parties to “temper election rhetoric.” “At a time when B.C. is facing considerable economic and social uncertainty, overlapping elections would be a disservice to our citizens,” Ramsay said in a statement at the time. Ian Holliday, CTVNewsVancouver.ca
