Adam Pankratz: A warning from B.C. — don’t pull an Eby

A new word entered the political lexicon of British Columbia Saturday night: “to Eby.” Sadly for its namesake — outgoing premier David Eby — it is not an auspicious word. It means massive self-inflicted failure due to a colossal and hubristic miscalculation. Indeed, the scale and magnitude of Eby’s misreading of the B.C. electorate in calling his early snap election cannot be understated and it may well be the greatest political blunder in Canadian history. The resultant electoral rout will be studied and referenced for decades as a stunning backfire and cautionary tale of what can happen when a politician loses sight of the people and makes decisions for their own political benefit.  

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Broad and rich though the English language may be, few words adequately convey how bad this loss was for David Eby and the NDP. The B.C. Conservatives won 64 seats. The NDP limped in with 27 seats and the Greens took two. That’s a blowout. That’s a walloping. That’s a repudiation. That’s the voters of British Columbia roundly and unequivocally saying to David Eby and the NDP: “Get out.” It is a summary political execution and Eby tendered his resignation as premier and NDP leader his brief concession speech.

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After acknowledging that several NDP MLAs lost their seats, he said, “I accept full responsibility for that outcome.” He will likely get no argument from anyone on that point.

It now truly beggars belief to remember that Eby was already elected with a majority government when he called this election two years early and cynically tried to take advantage of turmoil within the Conservative party, which was roiling under the catastrophic former leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay. At dissolution, Eby’s NDP held a three-seat majority, with a by-election to be held in the safest NDP riding in the province. His majority was small, but manageable, and not at all the one-seat tightwire he tried to convince voters of the latter part of the campaign. That is to say, he could have done as he pleased for two more years before facing the voters. He chose to go early and has paid dearly.  

In to the public consciousness now steps Lorne Doerkson as B.C.’s Premier-elect, swept to power with a majority government fuelled by a voter base fed up with Eby’s relentless ideological decision making at the expense of governing for all British Columbians. During the campaign, Doerksen’s calm and understated presence contrasted sharply with Eby’s incoherent and confused message and who ultimately never gave British Columbians a reason to re-elect him. 

Doerkson is a somewhat unlikely leader, lifted to the Conservative helm to navigate the wild seas churned up by Findlay’s short and stormy tenure. Faced with that Herculean task, he has pulled one of the most remarkable political turnarounds we are ever likely to see. Readers must remember that in May the Conservatives held a 10 point lead over Eby’s struggling NDP. By Sept. 15, five days prior to Findlay’s resignation and a week before Eby dropped the writ, Findlay had turned that advantage into a four-point deficit. That is to say, the Conservatives were in a leaderless tailspin until Doerkson showed up to steady the ship. He has delivered victory in spectacular fashion and deserves every laurel and flower he gets. 

The 2026 campaign will also be remembered for NDP blunders and mistakes, as well as the incredible speed of the Conservative coalescence around Doerkson. On the campaign trail, Eby tired to make the election about Donald Trump, and the first weeks of his campaign largely fell flat for that reason. Eby then, very bizarrely, targeted the rich and local philanthropist Jim Pattison and Save-on-Foods. That attack on a local business hero, following the anti-Trump rhetoric was largely panned by the media and also failed to resonate with voters.

Finally, Eby’s admission that his family had taken advantage of one of B.C.’s rare $10-a-day daycare spots was ultimately the final nail in the coffin. Towards the end of the campaign, Eby pivoted desperately towards convincing B.C. that his majority was too small to govern effectively and he had no choice but to blunder headlong into an unnecessary election. In his flailing desperation of the final week, Eby went so far as to attempt using the tragic deaths of the Wainwright tragedy to impugn the patriotism of Doerkson. British Columbians were clearly neither fooled nor impressed and have unceremoniously shown him the door.  

Doerkson deserves immense credit for focusing the minds on Conservatives on what really mattered: NDP defeat and election victory. Under Doerkson, the Conservatives were effectively able to deliver the calm, mature message British Columbians had been waiting for on key issues affecting their lives. As with many Canadians, most pressing was the cost of living, particularly in Metro Vancouver. Doerkson’s campaign focus on steady leadership and economic development ultimately resonated with voters who had had enough of broken promises and spiralling deficits with no end in sight. 

The task facing Doerkson and the B.C. Conservatives is to now reward the trust British Columbians have placed in them. Doerkson may in many ways be an unlikely premier, but so was the late NDP premier John Horgan and his success is widely recognized on both sides of the aisle because he spoke to and understood, the issues affecting regular, every day people. All British Columbians should hope Doerkson has similar or greater success in his new role. 

Adam Pankratz is a lecturer at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. He ran for the federal Liberals in 2015, and in spring 2026 donated to Caroline Elliott’s bid to be leader of the B.C. Conservative Party.

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