Day 3 of the BC election: Poll shows NDP only lead by four points

PENTICTON — Premier David Eby asked Lt.-Gov. Wendy Cocchia to dissolve the legislature Tuesday. Elections BC set final voting day for Saturday, October 24, with advance polls October 16 to 21.Ordinary nominations open 9 a.m. Friday and close October 3 at 1 p.m. Pacific. The agency’s accepted-candidate list was still blank Wednesday afternoon, but the major political parties are already announcing some of their candidates they intend to run — along with some of those who will not be seeking re-election.Here's what you need to know on day three of the 2026 BC Election:.The poll making the roundsElection modeller @RealAlbanianPat posted an Innovative Research poll Wednesday, which put the New Democrats at 43%, the Conservatives at 39%, the Greens at 14% and others at 4%..The plus-and-minus on that card is against Innovative Research’s March 3 poll, when the Conservatives led 47–39.CKNW radio host and former BC Liberal MLA Jas Johal commented on a satisfaction split of 47%-47% between both of the major parties, along with 57% of those asked by the pollster saying "it's time for a change.".The BC vote-intention field ran September 4 to 18, online. Kerry-Lynne Findlay still led the Conservatives for that entire window. The writ had not dropped and Lorne Doerkson was not yet interim leader..Rustad passes the torch.The Conservative Party said Wednesday, through Canadian Press, that Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad would not seek re-election. Rustad confirmed it himself Thursday morning..“Serving this province, and serving Nechako Lakes, has been some of the most rewarding times of my life,” he wrote in a statement posted just before 5 a.m. PDT. “That time is now done.”He thanked the riding for its trust, said the party built itself “from the political wilderness to the Official Opposition,” and wrote that interim Leader Lorne Doerkson is “a quality individual.” He said Eby “did not call this election to defend what his government has done. He called it to save his job.”“I will not seek re-election in Nechako Lakes,” the statement said. “It is time to pass the torch to the next generation.”.A shorter post followed at 6 a.m. PDT. “My time is done. The work is not,” Rustad wrote. “God bless British Columbia.”.Two days earlier the same account had struck a different note. After Eby obtained the writ, Rustad wrote that he had accepted Doerkson’s invitation back to caucus and that “we will be on the doorstep.”.“We are not going anywhere,” he added Tuesday.Monday, after he accepted the return, he had written, “My time as leader is over too. Serving this province is not.” On the same Victoria doorstep he told reporters, “That may mean time is over for me, too. I don’t know.”He first won a version of the country in 2005, held Nechako Lakes from 2009, and led the Conservatives to 44 seats on October 19, 2024. In that election he took 7,851 votes (67.45%) against New Democrat Murphy Abraham’s 3,167 (27.21%).Nominations in that riding close October 3..NDP names Zussman in Saanich South.The New Democrats filled Lana Popham’s seat Wednesday. Former Global News and CBC legislative reporter Richard Zussman is the party’s candidate in Saanich South..“It is an honour to be the BC NDP candidate for the upcoming election in Saanich South,” he posted just after 3 p.m. PDT. “It would be the honour of a lifetime to serve you in the Legislature.”Popham said Monday she would not seek a sixth term after 17 years. The riding has gone NDP in every general election since it was created in 1990. In 2024 she took 15,338 votes (49.76%) over Conservative Adam Kubel’s 10,003 (32.45%) and Green Ned Taylor’s 5,485 (17.79%).Zussman’s statement said that after “interviewing leaders across all parties” he was joining the NDP because “I know they’ll stand up for B.C. and Canada by supporting workers and businesses, opening new markets beyond the United States, bringing down costs, and strengthening health-care.” He pointed to US President Donald Trump’s tariff file, the same argument Eby used at the writ. Eby called him deeply committed to his community and said he brought a “wealth of knowledge and experience.”.The announcement post had passed 130,000 views by Thursday morning, with hundreds of replies. The loudest line in that thread treated the jump as proof his old copy had leaned orange..“Another ‘journalist’ from global running for the NDP. What a biased reporter,” one reply with more than 300 likes read. Others called the move a “sell-out,” said he had “ended the masquerade,” or wrote that he had “always” been on the NDP team. Zussman is a six-time Jack Webster Award winner on the campaign biography and co-author, with Rob Shaw, of A Matter of Confidence, the 2018 book on the fall of Christy Clark’s BC Liberals. He later worked in public affairs. He sits on the boards of the Lakehill Baseball and Fastball Association and the Victoria Curling Club.No other party had named a Saanich South candidate by Wednesday afternoon. He is not on the Elections BC accepted list until a district electoral officer takes the paper..Gray asked to run. The BC Conservatives picked Singh instead.Speaking of nominations, former Kelowna—Lake Country MP Tracy Gray posted Wednesday morning that she had put her name to the Conservative Party for Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream..She wrote that “hundreds of people in our community” had asked her to run and called Eby’s overlap with the October 17 civic vote “callous” and “disrespectful to all the people running municipally.”Just after noon she posted a form and asked residents to tell the party they supported her..The authorized Conservative account named someone else after supper. At 6:39 p.m. PDT it posted vice-president Pavneet Singh as the candidate in the same riding..“We’re pleased to announce Pavneet Singh in Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream,” the party wrote. “We’re unified and ready to bring the change BC deserves.”.Singh answered from his own account Wednesday evening..“This riding has been home to me for more than 25 years,” he wrote. “I have built my businesses here, raised my family here. I am proud to stand with the @Conservative_BC and look forward to working hard.”The sitting MLA is Tara Armstrong. She won the new riding in 2024, 14,303 to 9,350 over New Democrat Anna Warwick Sears, then left John Rustad’s caucus in March 2025 and has sat Independent since December 16, 2025.Singh was the other conservative name on that ballot last cycle. BC United members nominated him on November 25, 2023. He ended that campaign on September 28, 2024, and endorsed Armstrong so the vote would not split.Armstrong answered the writ Tuesday by breaking with the party that has now named her 2024 running-mate’s replacement..“The BC Conservative Party has become the party of blackmail,” she wrote. Gray sat on Kelowna city council from 2014 to 2018 and in the House of Commons from 2019 until Liberal Stephen Fuhr beat her on April 28, 2025. She had not posted a concession note Thursday morning. Singh’s candidate page does not mention her.None of the three is on the Elections BC accepted list until a district electoral officer takes the paper. That window opens 9 a.m. Friday..Victoria firefighters enter the civic race already underway.As many are already painfully aware, the provincial writ landed on top of a civic campaign that is already underway. Victoria votes Saturday, October 17.Victoria Firefighters IAFF Local 730 announced September 10 that it had registered with Elections BC as a third-party advertising sponsor — the first time in the local’s history, president Josh Montgomery said.“Our members have identified six critical issues that affect public safety, firefighter safety, and our ability to do our jobs to the fullest extent,” Montgomery said in the union’s release.The six asks are on the union’s SafeVictoria site: a second means of egress in new multi-storey residential buildings; more high-rise response capacity above the sixth floor; street design that accounts for apparatus and response times; a plan against violence on emergency calls; proactive mental-health support for first responders; and more coverage for the Inner Harbour, Victoria West and what the union calls Canada’s busiest water airport.“This isn’t about political parties or personalities,” Montgomery said. “Every candidate has the same opportunity to listen to our members, understand the challenges we face and decide where they stand.”The local hosted a charity barbecue September 11 at 530 Chatham St., with proceeds directed to Project Trauma Support. Throughout the civic window it is inviting every mayoral and council candidate to sign the six-point pledge in public..Mayoral candidate Bruce McGuigan posted September 17 that he had signed. “Our firefighters show up for us every day. City Hall needs to show up for them too,” he wrote.“Our message is simple: Local 730 supports those who support us,” Montgomery said.

Day 3 of the BC election: Poll shows NDP only lead by four points

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