B.C. Conservatives Win Majority as Eby's Snap Election Gamble Backfires

On Saturday night, with the polls closed and his political future in the balance, David Eby sat in Vancouver with his wife, Cailey Lynch, their children Iva, 7, Gwen, 2, and Ezra, 12, and Lynch's parents, Kay Armstrong and Alex Lynch, waiting for the first results. By the time the count had advanced far enough, CTV News projected that the snap election Eby called had gone badly wrong for him: the B.C. Conservatives had won a majority.

The projection means interim leader Lorne Doerkson will become premier and lead the province's first Conservative government in nearly 100 years. Some ridings had not yet been declared, but CTV said the Conservatives had secured enough seats to push the B.C. NDP into Opposition after nine years in power. Doerkson was re-elected in his own riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin, which is considered a safe Conservative seat.

The campaign, by the account of a Research Co. poll, turned on the economy. A year ago, homelessness and housing topped voters' concerns, followed by the economy, health care, the environment and public safety. In a follow-up survey this month, the economy moved to first and housing and homelessness fell to second, with health care third, then crime and public safety, then government accountability, an issue that tends to surface when voters are unhappy with the incumbents. Research Co. president Mario Canseco called it a referendum on economic management. Eby had justified calling the election by pointing to the challenges posed by U.S. President Donald Trump, but Canseco noted that the environment and Trump were both missing from voters' answers. "We spoke to 802 people, nobody mentioned Trump," he said.

Former Liberal premier Christy Clark, who campaigned with the Conservatives in Surrey, had predicted a safe Conservative majority of at least 60 seats, citing recent polling and a mood she said felt like a change election, as municipal elections across the province had been. John Rustad, who led the Conservatives to within a hair of forming government in 2024, said before the polls closed that he thought Eby's snap call had ultimately united the right. Rustad is not seeking re-election. He was ousted as leader in 2025, then removed from caucus under Kerry-Lynne Findlay, and was welcomed back once Doerkson became interim leader. He described that period as emotional and said it took a toll.

The party Doerkson inherits has had four leaders in two years and has been marked by infighting among ideologically varied MLAs. Former NDP MLA Nathan Cullen pointed to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith as proof that governing such a coalition is very tricky. Clark, for her part, said that in her experience power itself keeps people together, since they want to stay in it.

Other parties made their own stands. Elenore Sturko became leader of the new CentreBC party the day the writ dropped, pitching it to voters who thought the Conservatives and NDP too extreme. She acknowledged her party would not form government and that her own re-election would be an uphill fight, but said the campaign, run on a shoestring, had introduced CentreBC to British Columbians. In Vancouver-Quilchena, Conservative candidate Carson Binda faced OneBC interim leader Dallas Brodie, a former party member, and said his campaign was not worried about a split vote.

Turnout was a talking point. About 100,000 fewer people voted in advance than in the previous election. Panellists, including former Liberal MLA Mike DeJong and Clark, suggested confusion from overlapping byelection, civic and provincial votes, along with the short campaign, may have played a part.

The count is not finished. Ballots cast at polling stations and electoral offices, plus special voting for groups such as deployed military and people in prison, were tallied Saturday night. Mail-in, assisted telephone and various absentee ballots will not be counted for two weeks while Elections B.C. runs additional integrity checks, so final seat totals could still move.