Key Takeaways

  • The B.C. Conservatives won or led in 64 of 93 ridings, surpassing the 47 seats needed for a majority.
  • Interim Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson is expected to become premier, ending nine years of NDP rule.
  • Elections BC will conduct its final count, including mail-in and absentee ballots, from November 6 to 10.

British Columbia has a new government. The B.C. Conservative Party won a majority in Saturday's provincial election, ending nine years of NDP rule and putting interim leader Lorne Doerkson in line to become premier — the party's first majority government in nearly a century.

The result

According to Elections BC's preliminary results, the Conservatives won or led in 64 of the province's 93 ridings — well past the 47 seats needed for a majority — with about 48 per cent of the popular vote. The B.C. NDP took 27 seats, and the B.C. Greens won 2.

Doerkson, who took over as interim leader only on September 20, was elected to a third term as MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin. The Conservative victory is the party's first majority since 1928; in the 2024 election it won 44 seats and fell just short of forming government.

Premier David Eby called the snap election roughly five weeks ago, two years ahead of schedule and despite holding a one-seat majority, saying he needed a stronger mandate. On election night he conceded defeat, phoned Doerkson to congratulate him, and announced he is resigning as NDP leader. In his own Vancouver-Point Grey riding, Eby was leading in the preliminary count.

Green Party leader Emily Lowan won her riding on Vancouver Island.

What the Conservatives promised

The Conservatives campaigned on cutting taxes by raising the basic personal exemption, shrinking the deficit through economic growth, repealing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, and ending SOGI school guidance.

"Together, our best days are still ahead of us, my friends. I promise you that," Doerkson told supporters in his victory speech.

What happens next

Saturday's numbers are the preliminary count. Elections BC will hold its final count — including mail-in and absentee ballots — from November 6 to 10, and the writs are scheduled to be returned on November 18. Doerkson is expected to be sworn in as premier once the transition is complete.

Sources

Photo: Michal Klajban / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) — the B.C. Parliament Buildings in Victoria.

Sources