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British Columbia's political calendar now holds two consecutive votes — municipal elections on Oct. 17 and a provincial election on Oct. 24 — and the timing of Premier David Eby's snap-call is drawing sharp criticism from federal lawmakers across party lines.
As of Oct. 1, 2025, the New Democratic premier's decision to send voters to the polls well before the scheduled provincial date has been branded opportunistic. The controversy is amplified by the fact that the opposition B.C. Conservative Party is still piecing itself together after the sudden resignation of its leader barely two weeks ago.
Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, whose Saanich—Gulf Islands riding is in British Columbia, did not hide her displeasure.
"David Eby should be ashamed," May told The Hill Times. She described the move as "so cynical and opportunistic" and said she hopes voters punish him at the ballot box. May also warned that Eby risks deepening public distrust. Politicians, she said, already get "less respect than your used car salesman" when it comes to questions of scruples — and this snap election will only make that worse.
May argued that there is an unwritten courtesy in Westminster-style politics: don't call an election while a major opposition party is in the middle of an internal meltdown. Eby, she said, appears to have discarded that courtesy entirely.
Conservative chaos under Kerry-Lynne Findlay
The B.C. Conservative Party has been in turmoil for months. Kerry-Lynne Findlay, a former Harper-era federal minister and MP who entered provincial politics this spring, was chosen as leader with the enthusiastic endorsement of federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. Poilievre celebrated her victory as a win against "eastern liberal lobbyists."
But the party's standings in the legislature quickly fell apart. More than a dozen Conservative MLAs either resigned from caucus or were expelled during Findlay's tenure. By late summer, the official opposition's caucus had shrunk from 44 seats won in the 2024 provincial election to just 24 active members.
Findlay stepped down on Sept. 20, saying in a statement that too much of the party's time and energy had been "consumed by internal conflict" and "spent fighting amongst ourselves." Her exit came after a turbulent summer that included an accusation that critics in the party were followed by a private investigator and a police investigation into an allegation that a caucus member was offered a role in exchange for stepping down to allow Findlay to run in that member's riding.
Since Findlay's resignation, some of the breakaway MLAs have begun returning to the Conservative caucus, according to reports. Seven of the eight MLAs who had left to join a new centre-right group have now returned. Lorne Doerkson is serving as interim leader while the party tries to rebuild ahead of the Oct. 24 vote.
Federal critics: timing is self-serving
Conservative MP Frank Caputo, who represents the B.C. riding of Kamloops—Thompson—Nicola, called the snap election "100 per cent opportunistic." He echoed May's concerns about the crowded voting calendar.
"We're in the middle of municipal elections right now. He has to answer for that," Caputo said, arguing that Eby is using the opposition's disarray to maximize the NDP's chances of holding on to government.
Eby's New Democrats are defending a razor-thin one-seat majority in the legislature. That slim margin — and the ongoing political chaos in Victoria — are, in the premier's view, precisely why British Columbians should have a chance to choose a new government.
NDP MP Gord Johns, who represents Courtenay—Alberni, argued the snap election is a reasonable response to an unpredictable political environment. He noted that B.C.'s prosperity is being endangered by the "existential crisis" of U.S. trade policy under Donald Trump, and that a provincial government with a single-seat majority cannot risk being paralyzed by illness or tragedy.
"We can't have a provincial government on such a slim margin, governing at a time like this," Johns said.
Johns also pushed back on the idea that a party in turmoil should be able to veto a legitimate electoral test. Opposition parties, he said, cannot simply "stop an election that is within days" by resigning en masse.
"Lots of parties would pull that stunt," Johns said. "They just elected a leader." With the writs issued, he added, the campaign will now let "British Columbians decide on the future" of the province.
Premier's prerogative — but not risk-free
Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed, who represents Vancouver Granville, pointed out that any premier in a parliamentary system has the right to choose the election date.
"It's a consequential moment for the province and a consequential moment for the country," Noormohamed said. "If the premier feels that he needs a mandate to be able to do that going forward, it's his prerogative."
He said his constituents are more than capable of handling back-to-back elections. With city councils and the provincial government both on the ballot in October, voters are paying close attention to housing, public safety, and economic security. "I think people are going to show up and speak," he added, noting that the last federal election showed Canadians are ready to make their voices heard.
Independent Senator Baltej Dhillon, a British Columbia appointment, said he does not believe for a minute that Eby ignored the opposition's fragile condition when he made the call.
"B.C. politics is unfolding in a multi-series sort of Netflix show," Dhillon observed. But he added that Eby would probably have preferred to run against a stable, credible opposition. A struggling official opposition, he said, shades the election's legitimacy and makes the next government's mandate weaker.
Dhillon also criticized the B.C. Conservatives' recent forays into social issues and identity debates. The party, he said, "entered into the arena of culture wars and to create division" — a pattern he called "shameful and regretful" and a "dog whistle for those who occupy the far right." Even before Findlay took over, the party had been stained by former leader John Rustad's decision in 2025 to expel MLA Dallas Brodie over comments many condemned about residential school survivors; Brodie is now interim leader of OneBC.
Dhillon said he remains grateful that British Columbians have generally shown a commitment to unity, and that the election results will likely confirm that.
Why the B.C. ballot matters beyond Canada's West Coast
The Oct. 24 election in British Columbia is more than a regional political story. B.C. is a crucial gateway for Canadian exports to the United States, including softwood lumber, natural gas and agricultural goods. With Washington and Ottawa locked in a spiralling trade confrontation, a weak or minority provincial government in B.C. could complicate efforts to co-ordinate border, energy and trade policy at a time when stable provincial partners matter most.
Eby's gamble is clear: with the Conservative opposition in disarray, the NDP hopes to convert its one-seat majority into a more comfortable mandate. The risk, as his critics point out, is that voters may punish a leader who used an election writ almost three years before a scheduled vote simply because his opponents were vulnerable. That decision, his opponents argue, will speak for itself once ballots are counted on the evening of Oct. 24.
The next four weeks will tell whether Eby's calculation pays off — and whether the opposition's turmoil becomes a reason to reward the NDP or to deliver a rebuke that leaves every party in Victoria reassessing.
