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British Columbians vote in early election, with David Eby's job on the line
British Columbians voting today in early election
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
British Columbians go to the polls today in an early election called by NDP Leader David Eby in the biggest gamble of his political life.
The five-week campaign saw the major parties fight over issues from health care to housing, the province's record deficit and the increasing cost of living.
Polls open at 8.a.m. and close at 8 p.m. in the snap election that Eby called two years early, initially saying he needed a new mandate to tackle challenges posed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
But Eby said Friday the election was needed to end the frustrations of a "stalled out" legislature where the NDP held a one-seat majority, and he regretted not making that clearer.
Interim Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson secured his party's top job two days before the election call in September, and managed to woo back legislators who quit the party under the divisive leadership of Kerry-Lynne Findlay.
It's Green Party Leader Emily Lowan's first provincial election and Eby spent the closing days of the campaign urging her party's supporters to consider voting NDP to prevent splitting the vote.
The legislature at dissolution officially consisted of 47 New Democrats, 29 Conservatives, two Greens and 13 Independents, with two vacant seats.
But that does not take into account that most of the nominal Independents were Conservatives who returned to the party after Doerkson became interim leader — they may not all be reflected in the official numbers, but the Conservatives went into the election holding about 37 seats.
Elections BC has said votes cast on election day will be counted by hand, despite electronic tabulators being used for the first time in 2024. The agency cited the tight timelines in the snap election and the technical requirements to get the machines up and running.
Mail-in and absentee ballots won't be counted until about two weeks after election day, with Elections BC saying it needed time to ensure that only eligible voters vote, and only once.
More than 891,000 advance votes were cast, representing about 24 per cent of all registered voters.
The campaign saw the NDP propose a new tax bracket for those making more than $1 million to help fund health care, while pledging price caps on some basic groceries and to create a training program for qualified international medical graduates already living in B.C.
The Conservatives promised no tax increases and to raise B.C.’s basic personal income tax exemption from $13,216 to $32,000, resulting in a $1,000 tax cut for most individual workers.
Doerkson said his top priority was repealing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
The Greens promised to tax household wealth over $50 million, to open a community health centre in every riding, and to reform the province's oil and gas royalty framework.
Other parties contending for votes include CentreBC, led by former Conservative Elenore Sturko, and OneBC, whose interim leader Dallas Brodie is another former Conservative.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2026
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Winnipeg police suspend use of Crime Stoppers after data breach
Winnipeg police suspend use of Crime Stoppers
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Steve Lambert
Winnipeg police say they've suspended the use of Crime Stoppers in light of a massive data breach of the crime-reporting system.
The pause comes after CBC reported that 1.5 million tips submitted to Canadian Crime Stoppers programs over the last 25 years were stolen earlier this year.
Winnipeg police say they have been made aware that some data related to the city was included in the breach.
They are reviewing the additional safeguards and security measures being implemented by Crime Stoppers.
Other police forces in Canada have also suspended use of the service, including several in the Toronto region.
Crime Stoppers is a community-based intermediary that allows people to anonymously report information about crimes to police.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Industry Minister Mélanie Joly wants to build an aluminum rolling mill in Canada
Joly announces new funding for aluminum sector
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says new federal investments announced Friday are a first step toward reducing the Canadian aluminum sector's dependence on the United States.
Joly, who is also the minister responsible for economic development in Quebec, made the comments in La Baie, Que., where she announced more than $193 million in federal funding for projects at four Rio Tinto facilities in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region and at the Alouette aluminum smelter in Sept-Îles, Que.
“The aluminum industry is much more than an economic driver. It is also a strategic industry for our country and for Canadian sovereignty,” the minister said in her speech.
Citing the economic upheaval caused by tariffs and the unpredictability of the American government, Joly said that “in this new context, we must be able to produce more of what our economy needs right here in Canada.”
She also said the funding is a first step toward strengthening the Canadian aluminum supply chain.
Joly pointed out that the price of aluminum products are inflated first by tariffs when they enter the United States and a second time when that aluminum returns to Canada. The United States imposes a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian aluminum, and since Sept. 8, Canada has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on processed aluminum from the United States, resulting in a total surcharge of 100 per cent.
The Canadian tariff imposed in March 2025 was 25 per cent before Sept. 8.
Joly stressed that the government sees aluminum as a strategic sector for the Canadian economy and that she sees the importance of building rolling mills in Canada.
"It’s not normal that most of our aluminum is processed in the United States and then comes back at a higher cost to our companies," she said.
She said several sectors — including agri-food, beverages, and aerospace — need more processed aluminum and have rolling mill projects of their own.
"We want to be able to produce our aluminum cans here at home; we want to be able to produce our aircraft and aerospace parts here at home; and we also want to attract key investments in aluminum processing for our defence sector," Joly said.
On top of providing financial support to producers, she said the government also wants to work with entrepreneurs interested in developing these rolling mills and take on equity stakes.
Ottawa also wants “to be able to offer procurement contracts, certainly defence-related ones, for key components in the aerospace sector, precisely to create a business model that makes sense for a rolling mill,” Joly stated.
“Economic sovereignty isn’t something you proclaim, it’s something you build."
Canada has nine primary aluminum smelters, eight of which are located in Quebec. The other is in British Columbia.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
By Pierre Saint-Arnaud | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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