David Eby opposes early voting in BC despite big NDP election wins

VANCOUVER – There will be no early provincial elections in British Columbia, despite resounding victories for New Democratic Party candidates in a pair of midterm elections over the weekend, Prime Minister David Eby said Monday.

When asked about the possibility of calling an election this fall after his party’s candidates won handily in the Vancouver-Mount Pleasant and Langford-Juan de Fuca motos, Eby said he has no interest in doing so.

“We will not call early elections. We go to the elections with a fixed date.’

Eby said the victories of Joan Phillip in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant and Ravi Parmar in Langford-Juan de Fuca reflected the quality of the NDP candidates in every race.

He said speaking to voters during the midterm election campaign confirmed his intention to stick to the firm date of October 2024 for the next general election.

“We talked to a lot of people,” Eby said. “Nobody said, ‘I really hope you call a general election soon.’ People don’t get excited about that, they want us to address the tough issues, and we’re going to do that work.”

Phillip secured Vancouver-Mount Pleasant with 68 percent of the vote, while Parmar was elected with 53 percent over former Prime Minister John Horgan Langford-Juan de Fuca.

Opposition BC United candidates struggled, finishing fourth in Vancouver Island with just nine percent of the vote, and a distant second in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant, with 13.7 percent.

BC’s Conservative Party claimed second place in Langford-Juan de Fuca with 20 percent of the vote, prompting leader John Rustad to declare that the party is ready to “take up the mantle of the centre-right coalition”.

Eby declined to comment on the situation between the opposition parties, saying that while his party’s candidates did “exceptionally well” on Saturday, the NDP should not be “sidetracked in partisan political concerns”.

He cited health care, housing, addictions, homelessness and the cost of living as ongoing issues that need to be addressed, rather than launching an early election campaign.

“If we keep focusing on the core priorities of British Columbians, we will do well in elections,” he said.

The prime minister also said he has no objection to Rustad being invited to the debates of future leaders when provincial elections take place.

Saturday’s midterm elections were the first test for BC United under the new name following the switch from the BC Liberal Party earlier this year.

The standings in BC’s 87-seat legislature are: NDP at 57; BC United with 27; Green Party at two; with an independent.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 26, 2023.

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