Who Can Voters Support This Time? B.C.’s Two Elections Demand Real Answers

 

B.C. voters are being asked to choose a provincial government less than two years after the last election. Many have reason to be uneasy about both leading choices—and, one week earlier, they must also choose their local governments.

Premier David Eby says the threat from Donald Trump demands a fresh mandate. The U.S. trade conflict is real. But Eby already had a majority and the authority to govern. An election does not erase the decisions made under that authority.

B.C. finished 2022–23 with a $704-million surplus. The province subsequently recorded a $7.3-billion deficit in 2024–25 and a $7.7-billion deficit in 2025–26. Its September 2026 fiscal update forecasts a $13.8-billion deficit for 2026–27.

The $7.7-billion figure is an actual year-end result; the $13.8-billion figure is a forecast. Both demand an explanation of the government's choices and a credible plan for what comes next. Trump cannot be held responsible for every decision made in Victoria.

Yet voters looking to the official opposition for that explanation find a party struggling with its own divisions. The B.C. Conservatives changed leaders just before the election call, following caucus departures and expulsions. They need to show voters who is in charge, whether their team can work together, and how they would govern differently. Criticism of the NDP is no substitute for a workable alternative.

Now the provincial election lands on October 24—one week after the October 17 local elections. That timing risks pushing municipal questions out of sight. In Nanaimo, voters should be asking provincial candidates about approval, funding and timelines for the hospital patient tower and cardiac catheterization lab. They should also ask regional hospital district candidates what local taxpayers may be asked to contribute. Planning for a project is not the same as a funded construction commitment.

Local newsrooms face a difficult job covering two campaigns at once. Every project announcement needs the same basic questions: What has actually been approved? What will it cost? Who pays? When will it be built? Those answers matter more than another photograph beside a promising sign.

The NDP must account for its fiscal record and its new promises. The opposition must prove it can offer stable leadership and a costed plan. Local candidates must answer for the decisions within their own authority.

Neither side is owed a vote. Voters deserve clear answers in both elections—and coverage that helps them tell a commitment from a campaign promise.

Sources: B.C. 2022–23 Public Accounts release; 2024–25 Public Accounts release; 2025–26 Public Accounts release; September 2026 fiscal update; Nanaimo Regional Hospital District projects.