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. Watch Eby’s full news conference and see highlights from the day below. ‘We are unified,’ says B.C. Conservative leader The leader of the B.C. Conservatives believes Eby will come to regret sending voters to the polls in a snap election Lorne Doerkson, who was appointed interim leader less than 48 hours ago, slammed the election call as an opportunistic waste of taxpayer dollars. Asked if he thinks the recent upheaval in the party will dissuade British Columbians from voting Conservative, Doerkson said opposition to Eby and the NDP has reunited the right. “There’s no question that our caucus is a pretty lively caucus, but we are back together here today, and we are going to take on David Eby,” Doerkson said. “We are here today and we are unified for a simple task, and that is to change government in this province.” Ove the past two days, the B.C. Conservatives have welcomed back around a dozen incumbent MLAs who left the party during Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s tenure. Lisa Steacy, CTVNewsVancouver.ca Ravi Kahlon among those not seeking re-election Longtime NDP cabinet minister Ravi Kahlon won’t be on the ballot for October’s provincial election. Kahlon served as MLA for Delta North for three consecutive terms, first being elected in 2017. Since then, he has headed provincial ministries of Housing, Jobs, and more recently Health—a role he was appointed to during a cabinet shuffle in August. Kahlon announced his stance in a post on X, hours after Eby called a snap election. “After three election cycles, I believe this is the right time for the next champion of North Delta to step forward and carry this work on,” he said. In a separate announcement Tuesday afternoon, Kelly Greene said she wouldn’t seek re-election for Richmond-Steveston. On Monday, Lana Popham said she wouldn’t seek re-election in Saanich South. Like Kahlon, Popham and Greene served as cabinet ministers in Eby’s now-dissolved government. James Paracy, CTVNewsVancouver.ca CentreBC names Sturko as leader Elenore Sturko has been appointed to lead CentreBC—a fledgeling party that has never sent a member to the legislature. Last week, the party briefly gave a home to seven MLAs who had left the B.C. Conservatives under Kerry Lynne-Findlay’s leadership. Sturko, who had sat as an Independent after being ousted from the Opposition in 2025, also joined. But after the election was called Tuesday, everyone but Sturko rejoined the B.C. Conservatives. “I am proud to be a part of CentreBC and to continue to offer a choice for British Columbians,” Sturko said, in a statement. “Like many people I have found a political home with CentreBC and I am ready to fight for the people of this province.” Sturko was first elected in 2022 as a B.C. Liberal. B.C. Conservatives set to respond Lorne Doerkson, the interim B.C. Conservative leader, will be responding to the election call at a 4 p.m. news conference. “This cynical election is not what British Columbians asked for, but it offers our province the hope for real change,” the party wrote in a statement Tuesday. “Four more years of David Eby’s weak, divisive, and unpopular government would be a disaster.” Doerkson’s remarks could also provide some clarity on exactly how many Conservatives who left the party under Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s leadership have rejoined its ranks—as the right wing rapidly rearranges itself. Lisa Steacy, CTVNewsVancouver.ca ‘A soap opera like no other’ Candidates in the Oct. 17 municipal election are angry that David Eby ignored their advice to hold off on calling a provincial election until votes were cast in local communities. “This move is not being well received by local governments across British Columbia,” said Vancouver mayoral candidate Pete Fry. “It’s incredibly frustrating for all of us who have been actively pursuing our campaigns.” Port Coquitlam mayoral candidate Brad West said the snap election call shows that B.C. politics is focused on the interests of provincial parties, not British Columbians. “B.C. politics is just reality TV,” West said. ”There’s nothing quite like it. It is a soap opera like no other. So I guess this is fitting in some way.” Shannon Paterson, CTV News Vancouver journalist ‘You also have to stand for something’ Peter Milobar’s time as leader of the upstart centrist party CentreBC lasted less than a week. In a statement Tuesday afternoon, the party confirmed that Milobar—along with other former Conservative MLAs who announced they were joining CentreBC on Friday—had decided to go back to the Conservatives. Elenore Sturko is the only MLA remaining with CentreBC at this point. Milobar did not discuss the move with CentreBC’s executive council, the party said. “We are disappointed that Peter Milobar and others did not stand by commitments made to this party, its executive council, and its members,” said CentreBC president Mike Wignall, in the statement. “We all want to remove the NDP government, which has caused such harm to our province, but at the end of the day, you also have to stand for something. CentreBC remains committed to our foundational values and will not be selling out to divisive politics.” The party said it plans to field as many candidates as possible in the upcoming election and will continue working to build “a party for the 51 per cent of British Columbians that want another option to the NDP and the B.C. Conservatives.” Ian Holliday, CTVNewsVancouver.ca Seven CentreBC MLAs rejoin Conservatives Seven legislators from the breakaway CentreBC party are rejoining the official B.C. Conservatives after Eby called an early election. Eleanor Sturko says she is the sole CentreBC MLA who is not rejoining the official Opposition, while the Conservatives say interim leader Lorne Doerkson and CentreBC’s leader Peter Milobar “have come together to give British Columbians a viable governing alternative.” The Canadian Press Green leader slams snap election call B.C. Green Party Leader Emily Lowan issued a scathing statement in response to Eby’s snap election call, accusing the NDP leader of looking out for himself instead of British Columbians. “This snap election will be costly, it isn’t wanted, and it continues this government’s track record of putting its interests ahead of everyday people,” Lowan said. She accused the NDP of leading a government of “managed decline through broken promises and continued inaction.” On Eby’s preferred justification for calling an election two years early—namely Donald Trump’s recent escalations of his trade war on Canada—the Green leader said Eby has failed to deliver meaningful aid to those most affected by U.S. aggression. “This government has offered tough talk on Trump, but hasn’t delivered any real support for the people and industries feeling the pain or implemented plans to build a local, resilient economy that could actually withstand the next shock,” Lowan said. “If they wanted to offer that support and stability they could do so today, instead they plunged us into an election.” Ian Holliday, CTVNewsVancouver.ca Byelection halted, Findlay’s future unclear A byelection in which former B.C. Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay was running under the party’s banner has been cancelled. Advance voting was underway in Abbotsford-Mission when the premier called a snap election. “Abbotsford-Mission voters who have already voted in the by-election will need to vote again in the provincial general election,” a statement from Elections BC said. Whether Findlay will still try to pursue a path to the legislature with a different party remains to be seen. Her husband, Brent Chapman, who was elected as a B.C. Conservative in 2024, announced his departure from the party earlier Tuesday—saying he was joining OneBC. Lisa Steacy, CTVNewsVancouver.ca 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. Lisa Steacy, CTVNewsVancouver.ca 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
