David Eby declines to rule out snap election as NDP signals readiness

Premier David Eby said Wednesday he has no election announcement to make, but stopped short of ruling out a snap vote amid mounting pressure on his one-seat majority government.

"I do recognize that it's important for British Columbians to be able to have a say about the direction of our province given the incredible disruption that Donald Trump has brought to our economy and to our politics in the province," Eby told reporters in Surrey. "We have continually told Elections BC, I tell my caucus all the time, that we need to be election ready."

The provincial election is scheduled for fall 2028, but Eby has declined to rule out calling an early vote in recent weeks. His approval rating jumped 10 points to 41% this week, according to the Angus Reid Institute, while an Ipsos poll released this week found NDP support at 45%—a 10-point lead over the Conservatives.

The political math remains tight. The NDP won a one-seat majority in 2024. Joan Phillip, the Vancouver-Strathcona MLA, died in August, and two more NDP MLAs are battling cancer. Eby has not yet called a byelection to replace Phillip, though a Sept. 26 byelection is scheduled in Abbotsford-Mission.

The Conservatives have fractured under new leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay. The caucus has shrunk to 28 MLAs—down more than a third from 44 elected two years ago. Seven former Conservatives announced they will sit as part of a new unnamed party, with Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar leading it on an interim basis. Several departing Conservatives cited lack of confidence in Findlay's leadership.

Findlay is running in the Abbotsford-Mission byelection, as is former NDP cabinet minister Pam Alexis. Eby predicted the race will be close. Municipal elections are scheduled for Oct. 17—a timing that may make a provincial election call less advantageous until after the Abbotsford-Mission result.