Eby says Doerkson a ‘Trojan horse’ for Conservative extremists as B.C. campaign wraps

VANCOUVER – Saturday’s election in British Columbia will be determined by the large group of people who are still undecided and sitting at home, NDP Leader David Eby said as he wrapped up the final day of campaigning.

“I’m glad you are helping the NDP,” Eby said to a group of people in Surrey where the New Democrats need to win.

Eby said there’s a history in B.C. of elections being decided on election day itself.

“For those undecided voters, for people who are considering voting Green, I’m asking for their support,” he said.

Opinion polls have shown Eby’s NDP trailing after he set off the snap election as the BC Conservatives were embroiled in leadership troubles. 

He expressed some regret on Friday about the way he handled the early stages of the campaign, acknowledging British Columbians’ were “surprised and frustrated” by his decision to go to the polls two years early.

He said at the time that the election was necessary to respond to the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump, but he said he now wishes he had been clearer about his rationale.

“I would say my biggest regret of the last 32 days is I was ahead of British Columbians, where their understanding was about the legislature, when I called the election,” he said. 

He said he “should have done a better job of letting them know how stalled out the legislature was,” referring to his party’s one-seat majority that he described as one of the most frustrating experiences of his life.

Eby paired his last-minute appeal for votes with appearances at a campaign office in Surrey, where he delivered doughnuts, and stops in Coquitlam and Langley, where he met with candidates and volunteers. 

He told a group at the Surrey stop that B.C. Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson is a cover for extremists in his party who could oust him if he is elected premier. 

“You may think you know what you are getting, but Mr. Doerkson is a Trojan horse filled with the most extreme views that British Columbians have ever seen running for office,” Eby said Friday.

“And we don’t even know that he will be the leader postelection,” he said referring to Doerkson’s status as interim party leader. 

The B.C. Conservative Party has said it will do what it takes to retain Doerkson as leader if he becomes premier, although it has not explained how it will overcome the party’s constitution that says an interim leader cannot run for the permanent leadership.

Doerkson campaigned in his rival’s home riding of Vancouver-Point Grey on Friday. 

His appearance in Eby’s riding was intended to be a photo opportunity only, but he took questions from The Canadian Press, rejecting Eby’s “Trojan horse” characterization as “absurd.”

“David Eby should go knock on doors, because the people I’m talking to here (indicate) he should have some concerns in his own riding,” he said.

Doerkson said he was committed to leading his party and to being premier if elected on Saturday.

New Democrats have seized on the leadership uncertainty, saying that both Caroline Elliott, who finished second in the Conservative leadership race, and federal Conservative MP Aaron Gunn, are building up support for the leadership race to replace Doerkson.

Elliott and Gunn have since issued statements of support for Doerkson, but Eby didn’t accept the claims. 

“I do think it’s telling that there are Conservatives that need to deny that they are seeking leadership at the upcoming leadership race, because there will be a leadership race, and the outcome is not certain about who will be premier if the Conservatives are elected.”

The closing stages of the election campaign have been dominated by the focus on Surrey, where Doerkson rallied on Thursday night alongside former premier Christy Clark and Surrey mayor-elect Doug McCallum.

McCallum told the crowd that they had changed Surrey — which has 10 provincial ridings — and it was time to change B.C.

Eby has repeatedly said the composition of the legislature prevented him from taking big legislative swings, which he felt were needed.

“It’s a very unusual moment, I will say, in B.C. politics, but I’m asking British Columbians for their support for that positive vision about where our province can go delivering for them and their families,” he said.

The legislature at dissolution consisted of 47 New Democrats, 29 Conservatives, two Greens, and 13 Independents, with two vacant seats. 

But that information from the clerk’s office does not reflect the fact that in the days before dissolution, most of the nominal Independents said they were returning to the Conservative fold, after former leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay stepped down and Doerkson took over.

Taking that into account, the Conservatives went into the election holding about 37 seats.

The Independents also included former Conservatives Jordan Kealy and Hon Chan, who exited the party after it was revealed they were facing criminal charges, as well as OneBC’s Dallas Brodie and CentreBC’s Elenore Sturko.

Doerkson became interim leader on Sept. 20, just two days before Eby called the election.

Elections BC said it will be hand counting most of the ballots cast in the election. 

While the votes were counted electronically in 2024, Elections BC spokesperson Colleen Hildebrandt said on Friday that they will be using a hybrid model this time because there wasn’t time to train people to use the tabulators and each machine has technical requirements.

In past elections that have been hand counted, results started being reported about 45 minutes after the polls closed, while in the 2024 election, 59 per cent of preliminary results were reported within half an hour.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.