The 2026 British Columbia Election: A Conservative Majority

British Columbia has elected a majority Conservative government, ending nearly a decade of NDP rule and making Lorne Doerkson the province’s first Conservative premier since Simon Fraser Tolmie left office in 1933. You read that correctly. How did this happen, especially when the NDP had two years left on their mandate? Let’s get into it!

How BC turned blue

The Conservatives won 48% of the popular vote and 64 of the 93 seats in the Legislative Assembly – well above the 47 needed for a majority. The NDP fell to 27 seats and will form the Official Opposition, while the BC Greens held on to two seats. The two new political parties, CentreBC and OneBC, failed to win any seats.

The result is not quite an upset if you have been following the polls (including those from your teacher, Shachi Kurl), but it is a startling result given how this election began. Remember: the BC NDP was only two years into its four-year mandate when it called a snap election, hoping to take advantage of disarray in the Conservative Party.

(Missed our update on what happened? Catch-up here.)

But that decision backfired badly, with British Columbians punishing David Eby’s NDP for what many saw as a power grab and voting overwhelmingly for change.

How did the BC Conservatives pull it off?

Despite the resignation of their leader just 48 hours before the election was called, and despite fighting the campaign under interim leader Lorne Doerkson, the party was able to reunite quickly under the Conservative banner. The Conservative brand, while relatively new (sort of) in BC politics, was strong enough to bring together a coalition of centrist and centre-right voters behind a message focused on change, affordability, public safety, and economic stewardship.

Equally important was what Doerkson’s campaign avoided: making the election primarily about the divisive social issues that may have cost the Conservatives the 2024 election.

The unknown premier

Lorne Doerkson became Conservative leader only weeks before election day. He was first elected in 2020 as a BC Liberal (which became BC United) before crossing the floor to the Conservatives in 2024. Before entering politics, he worked in newspaper publishing and financial planning in Williams Lake – a rural, resource-based community in central BC.

Doerkson’s rise was unusual. He did not win the leadership through a normal leadership race; he became interim leader after Kerry-Lynne Findlay suddenly resigned following a short and turbulent time as party leader.

Here’s the twist!

The Conservative Party constitution requires a leadership contest within a year of a leader’s resignation and bars interim leaders from seeking the permanent leadership. That is right: BC does not yet know who will lead its new government long-term, creating a highly unusual situation in Canadian politics.

The Conservatives have said they want to keep Doerkson as leader, but they have not explained how they would change or interpret the rules to make that possible. And, of course, the party membership will likely want a say.

Does winning a majority government pave the way for Doerkson to lead the party (and province) permanently? Or will a leadership race follow, possibly shifting the party’s focus to issues it did not campaign on, or renewing the infighting that already cost the Conservatives one leader this year? Stay tuned.

A self-inflicted loss

The NDP entered the election with a bare majority, but could have governed until October 2028. Instead, David Eby dissolved the legislature, called a snap election, and lost.

Why?

As mentioned, voters were focused on everyday economic pressures: housing, rent, groceries, taxes, health-care access, and public safety. Usually, when these pressures are the electoral priority, incumbents struggle. Many voters also saw the early election as politically self-serving rather than necessary. That left voters cranky, the NDP’s base unmotivated, and turnout at one of its lowest levels in decades.

David Eby resigned as party leader in the wake of the NDP’s disastrous result. The party will now have to find a new leader to help it put the pieces back together. In the meantime, an interim leader will be appointed and the NDP will form the Official Opposition.

More votes doesn’t mean more seats

The Greens essentially held their position in the legislature, retaining two seats, while increasing their share of the popular vote under leader Emily Lowan – the first member of Gen Z to lead a major political party in Canadian history.

However, with a Conservative majority government, the Greens will have little direct power to shape legislation beyond public pressure, committee work, and debate. That said, the Greens will likely try to highlight the problems with Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system, since their 11% share of the popular vote translated into only two of 93 seats.

The other parties

CentreBC is a new centrist party led by Elenore Sturko, a former Conservative MLA. Although the party failed to win its first seat in the legislature, its main achievement was establishing itself as a recognizable centrist option for future elections.

Similarly, the upstart, populist, right-wing OneBC led by Dallas Brodie – another former Conservative MLA – also failed to make an electoral breakthrough. It, too, hopes to have a presence in future elections.

This election isn’t an outlier

Although the Conservative Party itself has not formed government in BC since the early 1930s, the result should not be seen as completely outside BC’s political tradition. For much of the province’s modern history, government has been held by parties or coalitions on the centre-right of the political spectrum.

The Liberal-Conservative coalition governed after the 1941 election.
The conservative and populist Social Credit Party governed from 1952 to 1972, and again from 1975 to 1991.
The BC Liberals – a centre-right coalition that, despite the name, was unaffiliated with the federal Liberal party – governed from 2001 to 2017.

In that sense, the Conservative victory is less a sudden ideological shift to the right than a return to BC’s long-running pattern of centre-right governance – even if this is the first time that coalition has coalesced under a Conservative Party banner.

What the election means for BC and Canada

Firstly, the ever-growing cost-of-living crisis has taken centre stage in BC politics, even superseding the trade war with the United States. Although many factors are at play – including the trade war and climate change – it is clear that voters wanted a new government to be laser-focused on finding immediate fixes.

To that end, the Conservatives have pledged to cut taxes, speed up housing approvals, and aggressively develop the province’s natural resources. While these policies may improve the economic climate, they will not necessarily reduce the province’s record deficit. In other words, there is no obvious, easy fix.

For the country as a whole – and for BC’s immediate neighbour to the east – a Conservative government will likely support Canada’s push to develop resources and export them through West Coast ports.

So, good news for national unity!

Maybe.

The Conservatives have also pledged to repeal DRIPA – BC’s legislated implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which the legislature passed unanimously in 2019. The policy has become politically unpopular in the wake of several court decisions, but First Nations oppose changes to it. That sets the stage for protracted court battles over the repeal itself and other parts of the Conservative agenda.

With BC’s new government pledging to roll back old-growth forest logging deferrals and Indigenous-led protected areas – measures created in part to help Canada meet its national biodiversity goal of protecting 30% of the country by 2030 – First Nations may use DRIPA to block the fast-tracking of resource projects that fail to obtain the legislation-guaranteed “free, prior, and informed consent.”

Could this potential conflict strain Canadian unity by reopening disputes over Indigenous rights, resource ownership, treaty obligations, and the constitutional duty to consult? Only time will tell.

One thing is for certain, though: as with most elections, this one will help shape the province and the country for years to come – and now you better understand what happened and what it means for you.

*Final vote tallies and seat counts may change pending possible recounts.