Conservatives win BC election, Lorne Doerkson becomes premier

Lorne Doerkson has been elected premier of British Columbia after the provincial Conservatives secured a majority in a snap election.

The Conservatives won an estimated 64 of the 93 seats in the Legislative Assembly, while the incumbent New Democratic Party (NDP) of outgoing premier David Eby is projected to have won 27 seats.

Doerkson, a 58‑year‑old former rodeo announcer and newspaper publisher, took over the party leadership only weeks before the vote. He was first elected to the BC Legislative Assembly in 2020 and learned of his new role while returning from South Africa.

The snap election was called by Premier Eby in March, two years early, in an attempt to strengthen his party’s slim majority. Eby, who became premier in 2022, argued the early poll was needed to protect the province from “Trump‑style politics” and US economic pressure.

Following the result, Eby resigned as NDP leader, accepting full responsibility for the outcome. Doerkson pledged to cut red tape, fast‑track forestry and mining permits and to triple natural‑gas production by 2035.

The BC result adds to recent shifts in Canadian provincial politics, including a minority government for Quebec’s Parti Québecois.

Source: BBC News. Photo: alex ohan / Pexels.