British Columbians to choose next provincial government on Oct. 24 after Eby calls early vote

British Columbians to choose next provincial government on Oct. 24 after Eby calls early vote

Emily Lowan, leader of the B.C. Greens, added to the chorus of complaints against the snap election.

"This snap election will be costly, it isn’t wanted, and it continues this government’s track record of putting its interests ahead of everyday people," Lowan said in a news release.

She said the NDP already has a majority that it has used for "continued inaction."

Lowan said while the NDP has offered tough talk on Trump, it hasn't built an economy that could withstand the next shock.

"If they wanted to offer that support and stability they could do so today, instead they plunged us into an election."

Lowan pitched the Greens as a party that would build thousands of affordable homes, make health care accessible, and "[make] the ultra-wealthy and mega-corporations pay their fair share."

Not everyone in CentreBC is happy about Milobar's agreement with the Conservatives.

Party president Mike Wignall has just sent out a news release entitled "Milobar flips — Again."

Wignall said Milobar didn't discuss his decision to return to the B.C. Conservatives with the CentreBC executive council.

"We are disappointed that Peter Milobar and others did not stand by commitments made to this party, its executive council, and its members," Wignall said in the release.

He said CentreBC would not "be selling out to divisive politics" and added it would continue to field candidates as a centrist party.

Milobar left the Conservatives last month to sit as an Independent and planned to create his own party. On Friday, he was announced as the new CentreBC leader. Now, he's working with the Conservatives.

A new statement from the B.C. Conservatives confirms what sources told CBC News earlier: Doerkson and Milobar say they have "come together" to present a "viable governing alternative to the NDP chaos."

"This cynical election is not what British Columbians asked for, but it offers our province the hope for real change," the release says.

The statement did not provide specifics as to how the candidates will "come together," but was released under a Conservative party banner.

The Conservatives also criticized Eby's handling of a number of issues facing the province, including the cost of living crisis, the provincial deficit and crime.

"David Eby has handed B.C. a chance for change — let's take it!"

At the end of Eby's announcement, a journalist yelled out: "The byelection's over, I assume? … Can you just confirm?"

"Yes, that's correct," Eby replied.

ElectionsBC confirmed voting in the Abbotsford-Mission byelection has ended.

"Ballots already cast in the byelection will not be included in the provincial general election," says a news release. "Abbotsford-Mission voters who have already voted in the byelection will need to vote again in the provincial general election."

The byelection was called after MLA Reann Gasper stepped down in August to allow former B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay to run for a seat.

How quickly the landscape has changed.

As questions continue, Eby said he believes British Columbians will be able to parse through the avalanche of political information that's about to come their way with local and provincial elections taking place in one month.

That means candidates for mayors, councillors, park boards, school boards and provincial MLA seats will all be campaigning at the same time.

"I have confidence in British Columbians, I have confidence in their ability to understand what's going on because they're seeing it in their daily lives," he said.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim had harsh words for Eby's decision to call a snap election in the middle of campaigning for provincewide municipal elections.

"Local elections are not a scheduling inconvenience," Sim said in a news release. "They decide who runs Vancouver's police board, who sets our housing policy, who manages billions of dollars in city services."

Sim said calling the election now serves no one "but the governing party's own interest."

The mayor of Surrey, B.C.'s second largest city, said holding the provincial election will make it "that much harder to reach voters."

Brenda Locke said in her own news release that municipal elections already have much lower voter turnout than federal or provincial elections.

"I am calling on all voters across Surrey and B.C. to stay engaged and informed during this confusing period," she said.

CBC News has spoken to two high-level sources with direct knowledge who confirm a deal has been reached that will merge MLAs currently with CentreBC with Conservative Party MLAs.

Lorne Doerkson will lead the party, and candidates will run under the Conservative banner. An announcement is expected shortly and the sources say there will be a number of former MLAs and Conservative Party leadership candidates in attendance in a show of solidarity.

Eby already had a majority government, albeit a slim one, at dissolution. Reporters asked why he would roll the dice in hopes of a stronger mandate, especially given the cost to taxpayers and the local votes.

"On general principle, I don't think it's ever wrong to go to British Columbians to ask them what they think," he said, before repeating his view that now is the time to vote in the face of trade tension.

He added: "Especially in this moment, especially when the message in my opinion that we need to send is … we are strong, we are united, we are building a different vision for the province."

I also asked Eby about the NDP going into this election amid criticism from some business leaders that it has mismanaged B.C.'s economy, with the province facing a $13.8 billion deficit.

The Opposition and the Business Council of British Columbia has said spending is out of control and Eby has no plans to balance the books.

Eby has pointed to major resource projects his government is trying to fast-track such as LNG terminals.

However, that’s led to pushback from environmental advocates and from some of his own MLAs, including Kelly Greene, minister of emergency management and climate readiness, who spoke out against the government’s approval of the expansion of the Tilbury LNG project in Delta.

I asked Eby if he's fighting this election against Trump rather than opposition leaders and whether his early election call could unite the B.C. Conservatives and CentreBC.

"The chaos on the other side is actually their offering to British Columbians," he said. "They want to import the MAGA-style politics, the chaos of Donald Trump, to British Columbia."

Eby says his opponents believe the best path is to "embrace American-style policies that would chase the very health-care workers that are seeking refuge in British Columbia from across the border."

Eby says British Columbians have a clear choice between "the chaos, the cuts and cozying up to Trump" or a commitment "to build, to stand shoulder to shoulder across the country with Canadians."