B.C. Conservatives End Nine Years Of NDP Rule

The B.C. Conservatives have won a majority government, ending nine years of NDP rule and making Lorne Doerkson the province’s next premier. Preliminary results have the Conservatives leading in 63 of 93 ridings, well above the 47 seats required for a majority. The NDP leads in 28 seats and the Greens in two.

Doerkson entered the campaign as interim Conservative leader after taking over the party in September. His appointment helped reunite a caucus that had been fractured by months of defections and internal disputes. The Conservatives had won 44 seats in 2024 before losing several members from their caucus over the following two years.

The Conservatives campaigned on reducing personal income taxes, encouraging housing construction, expanding natural gas and LNG development and changing B.C.’s auto insurance system. The party has also pledged to repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

The NDP will return to the legislature as the Official Opposition. David Eby retained his Vancouver-Point Grey seat but announced on election night that he will resign as party leader. Green Leader Emily Lowan won Saanich North and the Islands, while OneBC interim leader Dallas Brodie and CentreBC Leader Elenore Sturko both lost their seats.

The result completes a rapid rise for the B.C. Conservatives, who received less than two per cent of the provincial vote in 2020 before winning 44 seats in 2024 and now securing a majority government. The initial count also puts the Conservatives at about 48 per cent of the popular vote, compared with 37 per cent for the NDP and 11 per cent for the Greens.