Even though his New Democrats have been in power in B.C. for nine years, Adrian Dix is no stranger to a loss. Dix, known to many British Columbians as the province’s health minister during the COVID-19 pandemic, led the B.C. NDP as the official leader of the opposition from 2011 to 2014. That leadership tenure was highlighted by a general election loss in 2013, when the B.C. NDP won 34 seats compared to 49 seats won by Christy Clark’s B.C. Liberals. “It’s immensely disappointing,” Dix told CTV News on election night, when asked how he felt about his party losing this year’s snap election to the B.C. Conservatives. David Eby was re-elected as MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey but stepped down as leader of the New Democrats after the resounding loss to Doerkson’s Conservatives. “We’ll be back, you bet we’ll be back,” Dix vowed on election night. “We have to reflect on tonight and also form a very strong opposition, and we will.” Dix served as B.C.’s minister of health from 2017 to 2024 and has been elected as MLA for Vancouver-Kingsway seven straight terms, every term since 2005. Dix was among several NDP MLAs re-elected to their seats as incumbents, including fellow previous cabinet ministers Mike Farnworth and Jennifer Whiteside as and Niki Sharma. In the wake of Eby’s resignation as party leader, Dix was asked if he would consider stepping into the role in an interim capacity. “This is, tonight, an opportunity to be gracious in defeat, to be accountable for it, because it has serious consequences for the province,” he said. “In the coming days, our colleagues will get together and make those decisions.” “I’m in one sense uniquely qualified. I’ve been a leader who’s lost a general election, and your sense of responsibility for the candidates, for the people, for the issues, for all the things that you aspire to do is enormous, and so it’s a real burden and I feel for David tonight.” Dix said Eby’s decision to call a snap election overwhelmed the party’s re-election campaign, and “didn’t allow other issues to break through.” “It was a mistake to call the election,” he said. “It obviously negatively affected people’s assessment of the premier ... the premier took responsibility for that tonight.” Shifting gears Dix said his mind was on the voters on election night. As he explained, “there’s a lot at stake in these elections.” “Voters who depend on the NDP, supporters of public health care, people who need surgeries and need family doctors and need team-based care, and people in public education,” he said. Dix said holding the B.C. Conservatives accountable in their claim to maintain support for public health care is a priority. “We saw what happened under previous right-wing governments in B.C. and the costs that people pay as a result of their actions, so you bet we’ll be holding them to account for all of those things,” he said. “But look, they won 48 per cent of the votes tonight. they have a mandate to govern we have a mandate to hold them to account.” Dix congratulated Doerkson on his victory, but called it “a victory without substance, without a clear platform or agenda.”
