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VANCOUVER — Lorne Doerkson will become British Columbia’s next premier after leading the B.C. Conservatives to a majority government in a snap election that ended nine years of NDP rule.
The Conservatives won enough seats Saturday night to form government, with the party leading or elected in 62 of the province’s 93 ridings when Doerkson addressed supporters.
“Our best days are still ahead of us, my friends — I promise you that,” Doerkson said in his victory speech. “We are going to super-charge British Columbia.”
Doerkson, the MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin since 2020, entered the campaign as interim Conservative leader after Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned amid internal turmoil within the party.
He had been interim leader for just 34 days by election night.
Doerkson told supporters his government would seek to represent rural and urban communities as well as First Nations.
“I want a B.C. where a hard day’s work gets you a family home and a future, right here in this beautiful province,” he said.
The Conservative victory followed Premier David Eby’s decision to call an election two years ahead of the next scheduled provincial vote.
The NDP held a one-seat majority when Eby called the election in September.
Eby initially said he was seeking a new mandate to respond to challenges posed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Later in the campaign, he pointed to the difficulties of governing with such a narrow majority and described the legislature as “stalled out.”
The election call came as the Conservatives were dealing with significant internal divisions.
More than a dozen Conservative MLAs had left or been expelled from the party over the summer under Findlay’s leadership. Eight former Conservatives joined the newly formed CentreBC party before Findlay resigned days before the election call.
Seven CentreBC members returned to the Conservatives on the day the writ was issued, leaving CentreBC leader Elenore Sturko as the only remaining member of the group. She was defeated Saturday in Surrey South.
The Conservative reunification gave Doerkson a more unified party heading into the campaign.
Eby conceded Saturday night and announced he will resign as leader of the B.C. NDP.
“This is obviously something I do with a very heavy heart, but it is time for new leadership within our party,” Eby told supporters.
Eby was re-elected in Vancouver-Point Grey.
He said serving as premier had been “the honour” of his life but acknowledged the personal cost of political life on his family.
Eby became premier in 2022 after John Horgan stepped down. He narrowly led the NDP to victory over the Conservatives in the 2024 provincial election.
His decision to return voters to the polls midway through the mandate drew criticism from opposition parties, which accused the NDP of trying to capitalize on Conservative divisions. Municipal leaders also criticized the timing because the provincial campaign overlapped with municipal election activity.
Doerkson’s Conservatives campaigned on promises including tripling B.C.’s liquefied natural gas production by 2035, providing a $1,000 tax cut for nearly every worker and maintaining and improving the province’s public health-care system.
The party also promised to expand $10-a-day child care, add 500 RCMP officers for rural communities over five years, hire 50 additional Crown prosecutors and expand the use of involuntary care.
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