British Columbia Premier David Eby has called an early provincial election for Oct. 24, less than two years into his mandate, as the B.C. Conservative Opposition works through a period of upheaval following the resignation of its leader.
Eby, leader of the NDP, went to Government House in Victoria on Tuesday to ask Lt.-Gov. Wendy Cocchia to dissolve the legislature, formally launching the election campaign.
The premier said the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump and the ongoing trade war represented an “existential moment” for British Columbia.
The provincial vote will take place one week after municipal elections scheduled for Oct. 17. Eby proceeded with the election despite appeals from numerous local government leaders who had asked the province not to overlap the two campaigns.
The snap election also comes as parties on the right of B.C.’s political spectrum work to consolidate their ranks following the resignation of former Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay on Sunday, less than four months after she took over the party.
Five MLAs who had recently resigned from or been expelled by Findlay from the Conservative caucus were welcomed back on Monday, bringing the party’s caucus to 29 members.
That number was already set to change again, however, after Findlay’s husband, legislator Brent Chapman, announced that he was leaving the Conservatives to join OneBC.
The election campaign now begins against a backdrop of continued political uncertainty within the provincial Opposition, with parties working to determine their positions and alliances ahead of the Oct. 24 vote.
