Election 2026: Campaign Roundup - Day 3

Welcome to Day 3 of our British Columbia 2026 Campaign Roundup!

We're bringing you daily updates on all the policy proclamations, platform promises, and political point-scoring from the campaign trail.

As always, our work is entirely funded by donations from British Columbians just like you, so if you appreciate the updates, please consider making a one-off donation or signing up as a supporter for just $10 a month - that's just 36 cents per email!

Campaign Roundup - Day 3:

• A new Angus Reid poll - the first taken since the announcement of a snap election - shows there could be a strong backlash against perceived opportunism by Premier Eby. The poll shows the BC Conservatives leading by 43% to 35% - an 8% lead and a 12% turnaround compared with the NDP’s 4% lead in the latest Angus Reid poll just last week. The BC Greens are at 12%, OneBC at 4%, CentreBC at 3%, and others/independents at 3%.
  
  
• Another NDP cabinet minister has announced they will not run in the election. Jobs Minister Brenda Bailey has announced she will not seek re-election in Vancouver-South Granville. Bailey, who was first elected in 2020, becomes the fourth former cabinet minister to announce they won’t run again, joining Ravi Kahlon, Lana Popham and Kelly Greene. She says she will still campaign for the BC NDP.
  
  
• The BC Conservatives have announced that interim leader Lorne Doerkson could remain leader if the party wins the election, but doing so requires a change to the party’s constitution. Under the current rules, an interim leader cannot run for the permanent leadership, meaning Doerkson could potentially lead the party to victory but would be unable to become its permanent leader. The party says its board will pursue a constitutional amendment that, if approved by two-thirds of members at a general meeting, would allow Doerkson to stay on.
  
  
• John Rustad, the former BC Conservative leader who brought the party close to forming government in the 2024 election, has announced he will not seek re-election in Nechako Lakes. Rustad was removed from the Conservative caucus before Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s resignation but was later invited back by interim leader Lorne Doerkson. Rustad, who first entered the legislature in 2005, said it was time for an older generation of politicians to step aside.
  
  
• OneBC says it will focus its campaign on issues it believes British Columbians care about, rather than partisan competition. The party is calling for greater parental involvement in education and the repeal of SOGI-123, arguing that schools should prioritize academics and preparation for adult life rather than what it describes as gender ideology.
  
  
• David Eby is making US health-care worker recruitment a major part of the NDP’s early election campaign, announcing plans to triple the province’s recruitment spending to $15 million. Eby says the existing campaign has brought more than 800 US health professionals to BC and will now aim to recruit another 2,400, including Canadian health-care workers currently living in the US.

Support Our Work:

The British Columbia Institute doesn't accept any government funding and never will. We think you should be free to choose, for yourself, which organizations to support. If you're in a position to contribute financially, you can make a donation here:

If you're not in a position to donate, we understand, but if you appreciate our work, you can help by spreading our message. Please forward this email to your friends, and help make sure every British Columbian knows what's going on in our province.