David Eby Steps Down as BC NDP Leader After Election Defeat

Incumbent B.C. Premier David Eby says he will be stepping down as B.C. NDP leader following his party losing in the Oct. 24 provincial elections.

Eby had defended calling the early election with more than two years left in his term, saying he needed to secure a new mandate from British Columbians amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies toward Canada. He also argued that his party needed greater stability, given its narrow majority before the election.

“A number of my colleagues, some of the hardest working MLAs I know for their communities, were not elected tonight. It breaks my heart, and I accept full responsibility for that outcome,” Eby said, adding that he would be stepping down as party leader.

Eby made references to the items the NDP government has achieved since forming government in 2017. He said these include the launch of the Broadway subway project, new schools, new health care facilities, increasing the minimum wage, and the “massive rental housing development by the Squamish First Nation on land that had been taken from them that they now own.”

In his election night speech, Eby added that he had called Conservative Leader and Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson to “sincerely” wish him well, as he said “this is an important time” for the province.

He said his family has paid a “significant cost” during his time as premier, and that he is now looking forward to spend more time with them.

“I am keen to spend some time with my kids, with my wife, with our friends, and not worry if someone is videotaping me while I am singing karaoke,” Eby said.

Eby, who won in his own riding of Vancouver-Point Grey, hasn’t indicated whether he'd be resigning as an MLA as well.

“I began my career in that beautiful community, and it is an honor, and continues to be an honor, to serve you,” he said.

Doerkson thanked Eby for his service, and said public life requires great sacrifices.

Throughout the campaign, the NDP continued to face questions about the rationale for calling an early election, which came as the B.C. Conservatives were embroiled in turmoil and infighting and Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned as party leader amid pressure.

Other challenges facing the incumbent party after nine years in power included rising provincial debt, a cost-of-living and housing crisis, and uncertainty over private property rights amid aboriginal title rulings and controversy surrounding the province’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). The law is based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and has been cited in B.C. court cases involving property rights.

Among the setbacks Eby faced on the campaign trail was backlash after acknowledging that his family had benefited from the government-subsidized $10-a-day child-care program while many B.C. families struggled to find affordable spaces. Eby said his family had donated the difference between the subsidized rate and the previous cost.

Eby’s loss while referencing Trump’s presidency stands in contrast to Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives winning a third consecutive majority in February 2025 and the federal Liberals winning the April 2025 election, with both campaigns heavily focused on responding to Trump.

The B.C. NDP’s defeat following an early election call echoes the experiences of former Ontario premier David Peterson in 1990, former Alberta premier Jim Prentice in 2015, and former Quebec premier Pauline Marois in 2014, all of whom called early elections and subsequently lost power.