Will there be a snap B.C. election?

There is a lot of speculation that B.C. Premier David Eby will call a snap provincial election this fall.

B.C. is already holding municipal elections on Oct. 17.

“We call on the premier to respect the law and respect the integrity of the local election process that only happens once every four years,” Cori Ramsay, president of the Union of B.C. Municipalities said on Thursday.

“It’s time to hit pause and put British Columbians first.”

Two weeks ago, Eby said he was busy preparing for the fall session, but on Wednesday he raised speculation about a fall election.

“We have a one-vote majority, so we’re election-ready as the NDP,” Eby said.

“Elections BC should be election-ready.”

Story continues below advertisement

4:43 More turmoil for the BC Conservative Party

Eby did not face any questions on Thursday, but Health Minister Ravi Kahlon said, “We’re dealing with an administration that wants to squeeze us economically so that we’re vulnerable and so what we need to do is make sure we have a stable government addressing the biggest issues.”

Get daily National news

Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.

Part of what’s driving the premier’s calculations is not just problems plaguing the BC Conservatives, but also polling showing his popularity rebounding and his party in the lead; but dig a little deeper and you find a volatile and disgruntled electorate.

New data from Angus Reid shows the NDP at 41 per cent, which is four points ahead of the BC Conservatives, with the BC Greens sitting at 13 per cent.

However, 47 per cent say the NDP is doing a bad or very bad job, while 39 per cent disagree.

Story continues below advertisement

Half of the people polled believe it’s time for a change of government, but 51 per cent are not enthusiastic about any of the choices on offer.

“One of the best ways to sum it up is, it’s a mess,” Shachi Kurl with the Angus Reid Institute said.

Eby is set to deliver his annual address to the Union of B.C. Municipalities on Friday morning.

The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from Sept. 8-15, 2026, among a randomized sample of 749 Canadian adults who are residents of British Columbia. Respondents are drawn from the Angus Reid Forum, a large-scale online panel developed to include Canadian residents in each of the 343 federal ridings in Canada and representative of the Canadian population by age, gender, family income, ethnic status and education. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults provincewide according to region, gender, age, household income, and education, based on the Canadian census. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/– 4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. The survey was self-commissioned and paid for by ARI.