PENTICTON — Seven days after the writ dropped, the party leader campaign tours finally split the map on Monday, with Premier David Eby venturing to the North Coast while Interim Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson brings his policy rollout to Vancouver.
With candidate nominations closing at 1:00 p.m. Pacific on Saturday, October 3, and final voting day set for Saturday, October 24, exactly 26 days remain after Monday. Municipal voters will also head to the polls on October 17 for civic elections, though the two contests do not share a ballot.
Update — 2:40 p.m. PDT
Boultbee is the fifth
Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee posted Monday she will not seek re-election.
“After careful consideration I have made the difficult decision to no longer pursue my candidacy in Penticton-Summerland with the BC NDP.” The post went up at 1:25 p.m. PDT.
She is the fifth sitting New Democrat off the October 24 paper, after ministers Lana Popham, Kelly Greene, Ravi Kahlon and Brenda Bailey. She is the first of the five who is not a minister. Boultbee crossed the floor from Independent to BC NDP only 12 weeks ago.
She said the July 3 floor-cross left her unable to “marshal the kind of campaign necessary to give the NDP a fair shot.” She asked voters to vote NDP. Path “is not over.”
That leaves one named name on the card. OneBC leader Dallas Brodie put Warren Hamm on it September 16, referring to the riding incorrectly as Penticton-Summerland-Naramata.
Elections BC’s name is Penticton-Summerland, although Naramata does sit inside the boundary.
Conservatives have not posted a designate and the New Democrats have not posted a replacement. It is anticipated Tina Lee, the 2024 BC NDP candidate and a vice-president of the party, will fill the role in Boultbee's place.
The Western Standard was the first outlet to report on the possibility of one, or more, BC NDP candidates announcing their intention to not seek re-election on Sunday.
Boultbee is the first BC NDP incumbent to do so since Sunday's post.
It is rumoured three-term BC NDP MLA George Chow could be next. Chow was replaced as the candidate in Vancouver-Fraserview on Sunday by BC NDP party president and former Richmond-Queensborough MLA Aman Singh, prompting speculation over Chow's potential retirement.
BC NDP Party Leader Eby quote-posted Boultbee's resignation post 55 minutes after the fact.
“Deep gratitude to Amelia for her courage and commitment to her community,” the premier wrote at 2:20 p.m. PDT. “Her passionate leadership through the Summerland, Faulder and Meadow Valley wildfires was a shining example of public service in action. Thank you, Amelia for the faith you've placed in our team and for all your contributions to our province.”
He did not name a replacement for her in the riding.
Update — 11:35 a.m. PDT
Conservatives pledge to triple BC LNG output by 2035
In a direct counter-programming move to Premier David Eby’s northern port stop, Interim Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson unveiled the party’s “BC Energy Superpower Plan” in Vancouver on Monday morning,
The policy framework pledges to double British Columbia’s LNG export capacity by 2032 and triple it by 2035.
“The world is facing a global energy crisis, and our allies in Asia and Europe desperately need Canadian LNG,” Doerkson stated in an official party release. “British Columbia could have been there for them. We have the resources, the workers and the know-how. But for the last ten years, David Eby and the NDP refused to build. That changes with me.”
The announcement focuses on regulatory streamlined measures, promising to "cut red tape," accelerate approvals, establish a "competitive and stable royalty framework," and build "expanded ownership and true partnership" with First Nations.
However, the release omits specific royalty percentages, direct capital allocations for electrical grid expansion or pipeline infrastructure, and individual project designations.
The policy rollout directly collides with Eby's campaign stop at the port terminal in Prince Rupert, where the premier touted port expansions and critical-mineral exports while characterizing past BC Liberal energy strategies as a "let her rip" approach.
Update — 10:45 a.m. PDT
Eby holds presser at Prince Rupert port
Standing on a container pier in Prince Rupert, David Eby rolled out an economic pledge focused on resource exports, trade diversification, and port infrastructure.
Eby promised that an re-elected NDP government would double critical-metals and mineral mining exports within five years, fund expansion at the Port of Prince Rupert, and invest $5 million into the port authority to double cruise-ship passenger capacity. He projected the campaign platform would create 500 new jobs.
"This port will be the second-largest port (in Canada) by 2030," Eby declared during the stop, framing the infrastructure plan as a hedge against international trade volatility. “It helps diversify our exports away from the United States.”
Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond joined Eby to endorse incumbent NDP candidate Tamara Davidson, praising her advocacy for the region.
Davidson opened her campaign office in the Rupert Square Mall on Sunday alongside Eby, candidate Jesse Gervais, and Skeena designate candidate Sarah Zimmerman. Davidson won the riding in 2024 with 4,863 votes to Conservative Chris Sankey’s 2,628. Neither the Conservatives nor Greens have locked in a 2026 candidate for the seat.
During a press scrum, Eby addressed Sunday's masked demonstration near Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, labeling the group "cowards" and describing the display as "anti-British Columbia."
Asked about former premier Christy Clark taking credit for BC's LNG development, Eby reacted awkwardly with a closed-eyed long silence.
He later distanced his administration’s regulatory strategy, characterizing Clark's era as employing a "let her rip" approach.
Eby also claimed the Conservatives "have called for an end to all First Nations" — his political framing of interim leader Lorne Doerkson’s platform. Doerkson's stated party position is the repeal of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which Doerkson maintains is an administrative reform rather than an attack on indigenous rights.
There is currently no policy proposal on the table from the Conservative Party of BC to "end all negotiations with First Nations."
Canadian Press reporter Wolfgang Depner pressed Eby during the media availability on interim Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson’s Sunday "No New Taxes" campaign pledge.
In response, Eby asserted that British Columbia currently has the "lowest taxes of any province in the country".
Eby's blanket claim, however, is inaccurate. While BC maintains low provincial personal income tax brackets on modest earnings compared to eastern provinces like Ontario and Quebec, the province's tax burden escalates sharply at higher income levels.
BC's top provincial personal income tax rate of 20.5% creates a combined federal-provincial top marginal rate of 53.50% — tied with Ontario for the highest in western Canada and among the steepest nationwide.
When looking at total provincial tax burden, Alberta maintains a vastly lower tax climate due to its complete absence of a provincial sales tax and a top combined marginal rate of 48.00%.
Eby heads north
David Eby departed the Lower Mainland for the North Coast on Sunday, and is set to make a major campaign stop in Prince Rupert with a press conference set for 10 a.m. PDT.
Prince Rupert is home to Canada’s third-largest port and the closest major North American harbour to Asian markets. Prior to flying north, Eby spoke to media at an event in Kamloops addressing recent events in the Interior.
On the tarmac, Eby strongly condemned recent actions by an alleged group of white nationalists near the Kamloops Indian Residential School and reserve — also known as Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc — calling the conduct “disgusting and disgraceful.”
Prince Rupert sits within the North Coast-Haida Gwaii riding, currently held by Environment Minister Tamara Davidson. In 2024, Davidson won the seat with 4,863 votes (64.92%) over Conservative candidate Chris Sankey’s 2,628 votes, on a total turnout of 48.60% (7,491 valid ballots out of 15,518 registered voters). Neither the Conservatives nor the Greens have locked in their 2026 nominees for the riding yet.
Campaigning will see a brief administrative pause mid-week, as Elections BC district offices will be closed on Wednesday for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Doerkson brings Conservative policy push to Vancouver
Interim Conservative Party Leader Lorne Doerkson will have a much shorter trip than Eby to kick off his week, as his campaign tour moves from Surrey to Vancouver on Monday morning for another policy announcement at 11:00 a.m. PDT.
The announcement follows a Sunday release in Surrey where Doerkson pledged he “will never raise taxes on British Columbians” throughout “the entirety of his government.” Sunday's announcement did not propose cuts to existing taxes on the books.
The tax pledge follows fiscal adjustments in Budget 2026, which raised the lowest personal income tax rate from 5.06% to 5.60% and froze bracket indexation from 2027 through 2030. Premier Eby previously paused a scheduled 7% PST expansion onto professional services on September 18, while introducing a new unsold-condo levy last Friday.
Under Article 12 of the party constitution, Doerkson serves as interim leader and is barred from seeking the permanent leadership in the next contest; the pledge reflects party policy for a future Conservative administration following October 24.
Conservatives nominate Alex McMillan in Vancouver-Point Grey
In one of the most high-profile candidate reveals of the campaign so far, the Conservatives announced business executive Alex McMillan to challenge Premier David Eby in his home riding of Vancouver-Point Grey.
McMillan served as interim CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce from June 2025 until January 2026 following the departure of Fiona Famulak. A former public relations specialist and senior adviser at the Mining Association of BC, McMillan founder of consultancy McMillan Solutions, and has a background in government relations within the forestry sector alongside past senior political and civil service roles in Victoria.
The appointment drew immediate commentary from former BC Liberal MLA Jas Johal.
“A strong private sector economy is the basis of our collective prosperity,” Johal posted. “This is exactly the type of candidate we need to see running.”
Vancouver-Point Grey has a notable electoral history, having been represented by three consecutive B.C. premiers: Gordon Campbell, Christy Clark, and David Eby. Eby first won the seat in a May 2013 by-election against then-Premier Clark by a margin of 11,499 to 10,436. In 2024, Eby secured re-election with 12,538 votes (56.77%) over Conservative Paul Ratchford (7,622 votes) and Green candidate Devyani Singh (1,925 votes) on a 63.43% turnout.
CentreBC has nominated party secretary Michael Davis in the riding. Green Party nominations for Vancouver-Point Grey remain open ahead of the October 3 filing cutoff.
NDP retirement speculation swirls ahead of nomination deadline
Unconfirmed reports continue to circulate regarding potential further departures within the governing BC NDP caucus.
Social media reports late Sunday indicated that one or two additional BC NDP incumbents might announce they are not seeking re-election.
While four cabinet ministers — Lana Popham, Kelly Greene, Ravi Kahlon, and Brenda Bailey — have already confirmed they will not be on the October 24 ballot, no fifth candidate departure has been officially confirmed by the party or individual MLAs.
Insiders note that the party’s war room has been working to retain existing incumbents where possible as candidate packages are finalized.
The Western Standard has learned from a party source over the weekend that the likelihood of of one, maybe two, BC NDP incumbents announcing they are not seeking re-election on Monday is "extremely high."
OneBC rumours denied in Penticton-Summerland
Following late-night speculation that a candidate from OneBC might pull out before submitting nomination papers, the party’s local designate responded before dawn.
Reports surfaced late Sunday night suggesting murmurs that a OneBC candidate was preparing to back out of the race. However, Warren Hamm, the party's designate for Penticton-Summerland, directly shut down those reports early Monday morning.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Hamm posted at 5:03 a.m. PDT Monday. “Nice try Cheryl" — presumably in reference to BC NDP campaign head Cheryl Oates.
The Western Standard can confirm the candidate rumoured to be pulling out ahead of the nomination is not Hamm.
Hamm was the first general-election candidate announced by OneBC on September 16. The party’s slate also includes Dallas Brodie (Vancouver-Quilchena), Brent Chapman (Surrey South), Robin Roy (Abbotsford South), AJ Wolfe (Kootenay-Rockies), and Hunter Corrigal (Kootenay Central).
None of the six have been formally accepted by Elections BC yet, as party lists continue to finalize ahead of the October 3 deadline.
