Lorne Doerkson leads B.C. Conservatives to power with thumping two-thirds majority
British Columbia has turned blue, electing a B.C. Conservative government with an overwhelming two-thirds majority.
Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson says he'll follow through on campaign promises to supercharge the province's economy, while outgoing Premier David Eby has announced his resignation as NDP leader.
Eby's decision to call a snap election two years early will go down as one of the most disastrous miscalculations in Canadian political history.
Conservatives have been elected or are leading in about 64 ridings in the 93-seat legislature, while the NDP has been reduced to about 27 ridings and the Greens won two, with Leader Emily Lowan securing a seat on Vancouver Island.
Preliminary results show the popular vote went to the Conservatives with about 48 per cent of the vote, while the NDP won about 37 per cent and the Greens 11 per cent.
Doerkson, who emerged from obscurity when he was named interim leader of the Conservatives just two days before Eby's fateful Sept. 22 election call, is expected to stage his first news conference as premier-designate today.
Preliminary turnout was about 1.8 million, representing about 48 per cent of registered voters.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
OneBC's Dallas Brodie loses Vancouver-Quilchena riding
The Canadian Press decision desk is projecting that OneBC interim leader Dallas Brodie has lost the riding of Vancouver-Quilchena.
She has been defeated by B.C. Conservative candidate Carson Binda, who is the former provincial director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
Brodie was first elected as a Conservative in Vancouver-Quilchena in 2024, but was ejected from the party's caucus the next year by former opposition leader John Rustad, who said she mocked former residential school students.
She then formed OneBC with legislator Tara Armstrong, who had quit the Conservatives in sympathy with Brodie.
OneBC briefly held official party status in the legislature but lost that when Brodie and Armstrong fell out, leaving Brodie as its sole legislator.
Brodie, who survived a recall petition this year, campaigned on opposing what she called "land back giveaways" and "the greed and corruption of the reconciliation industry."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2026.
By Chuck Chiang | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
B.C. Conservative leader Doerkson retains riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin
The Canadian Press decision desk is projecting that interim British Columbia Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson has been re-elected in the riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin.
The Interior riding is considered safe territory for the Conservatives, having voted either Conservative or B.C. Liberal since being formed in 2009.
Doerkson has held the seat since 2020, when he won as a B.C. Liberal.
The once-obscure legislator became interim Conservative leader two days before Saturday's provincial election was called on Sept. 22.
The former newspaper publisher and rodeo rider replaced Kerry-Lynne Findlay, whose tumultuous stint as Conservative leader triggered an exodus of legislators.
But Doerkson swiftly convinced most of them to return to the party's ranks ahead of the snap election.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2026.
By Brenna Owen | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.