B.C. Conservatives win election; Eby steps down as NDP leader

The B.C. Conservative Party has won the provincial election, and NDP Leader David Eby has said he is stepping aside after the snap vote he called ahead of schedule.

Eby delivered his concession speech just after 9:20 p.m., about an hour and a half after polls closed, Daily Hive reported. He said the result was not what his party wanted and that he accepts full responsibility. He also said it is time for the BC NDP to find a new leader, and he congratulated Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson.

The Vancouver Sun reported that Eby resigned as NDP leader on Saturday night. The sources reviewed by NORTHLINE do not say whether he is leaving immediately or will stay on until a successor is chosen.

How big is the win?

Vancouver Is Awesome reports that the Conservatives have won a majority government, and says Eby's decision to call the election two years early backfired. The Vancouver Sun describes a supermajority government that toppled a nine-year NDP government.

No seat totals were available in the material reviewed, so NORTHLINE is not reporting a specific count.

Daily Hive reports the BC NDP will form the official opposition. The Sun noted that the Conservatives had been roiled by infighting a month earlier and appeared close to collapse.

The campaign and the history

According to Daily Hive, Eby went into the campaign carrying a $13.8-billion deficit, unfulfilled promises and discontent over his handling of DRIPA, the provincial Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. The outlet also reports that he first won his seat in 2013, defeating then-premier Christy Clark. It says Eby dismissed speculation that he might lose his seat at a press conference on Friday, Oct. 23.

Daily Hive describes the result as the first Conservative majority government in almost 100 years, and the first time a B.C. leader has called an early snap election and lost. NORTHLINE has not independently verified those claims.

Some context from the same coverage: the BC NDP won narrowly in 2024, and then-Conservative leader John Rustad took 10 days to formally concede. In the 2020 snap election, the BC NDP under John Horgan won 57 seats.

A caution on timing details

Daily Hive's article contains internal inconsistencies in its dates. It gives Sept. 22 as the day Eby called the election, refers to an Oct. 23 press conference, and elsewhere uses an Oct. 24 anniversary reference. Timing details attributed only to that article, including the Sept. 22 date, should be read with caution.

What's next

• The BC NDP must choose a new leader. No process or timeline has been provided in the sources reviewed.
• Final seat totals were not included in the material reviewed, so the size of the Conservative majority is not confirmed here.