Eby pleads with Green voters to switch sides as final voting day looms

VANCOUVER — Premier David Eby is asking British Columbians who have voted Green in the past to support the NDP instead, warning that votes for the BC Green Party could help elect a Conservative government.Eby made the pitch Sunday in Campbell River during an announcement in the North Island riding, one of the places he says the Green vote decided the outcome last time. He also posted the message on X..“I’m inviting all progressive voters to join us in this election,” he wrote. “If you’ve voted Green in the past, we share a lot of the same values, and there’s too much at stake right now.”“In 11 seats last time, the Green vote was the difference between a Conservative and a New Democrat. We can stop Conservative cuts and build B.C. strong if we stand together.”Speaking to reporters, Eby said he has “a great deal of respect” for Green Leader Emily Lowan, but added that “she’s not going to be the premier next week.”“The damage that a Conservative government would do would last for generations, and some of it would be impossible to undo,” he said..Eby said neither he nor his party has been perfect, and he acknowledged frustration with the timing of the snap election. He said the choice is about the future of the province, not small differences between New Democrats and Greens.“So, I’m asking Green voters to think very carefully about the kind of province that we all want, because when we all work together as voters who share that vision, we win.”Asked whether the appeal was an admission that the NDP is trailing, Eby said the only poll that matters is the one on election day.Lowan responded in a statement.“David Eby called this snap election two years early,” she said. “Now, he is trying to scare British Columbians into voting for him.”She rejected the idea that the differences are small.“Tell that to the families waiting on the $10-a-day child care he froze, the seniors waiting on the seven long-term care homes he delayed, and the renters still waiting for housing they can afford,” she said..Lowan said voters are not asking for a perfect premier. “They are asking for a government that keeps its word, makes life affordable, and makes sure care is there when they need it.”She pointed to the Saturday civic election of Green Pete Fry as mayor of Vancouver as evidence that British Columbians are ready for Green leadership.“British Columbians can send that same Green message across the province on election day,” she said.Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson said he is concerned about Eby’s approach — and about Eby himself..“I am, to some extent, concerned about David Eby right now, because he is flailing all over the place,” Doerkson said in response to a question over Eby's pitch to those considering voting Green.A Conservative Party statement said Eby called the election because he saw an opportunity for himself.“What he handed British Columbians is an opportunity for change,” it said. “Three weeks later, he is begging other parties’ voters to save him from his own record. That is what desperation looks like.”.The 2024 election ended with the NDP holding 47 seats, the Conservatives 44 and the Greens two. The Green vote was the margin in a number of close races, according to the NDP’s own accounting.Eby made a similar appeal to Green voters in the final days of the 2024 campaign. The NDP emerged with the narrowest of majorities.On the right, OneBC is running candidates in dozens of ridings and presents a parallel vote-split risk for the Conservatives. Doerkson has made no similar public pitch asking OneBC voters to switch sides.Advance voting is underway across the province. Final Voting Day is October 24.Lowan is running in Saanich North and the Islands. Doerkson is seeking re-election in Cariboo-Chilcotin. Eby is seeking re-election in Vancouver-Point Grey.The NDP has not released a full list of the 11 ridings it says the Green vote decided in 2024. North Island is one of them, according to Eby.

Eby pleads with Green voters to switch sides as final voting day looms

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