British Columbians are heading back to the polls after Premier David Eby called a snap provincial election, abruptly pulling the plug on the province’s political landscape at a moment of extraordinary turmoil inside the B.C. Conservative Party.

The election call comes after days of mounting speculation that Eby was preparing to capitalize on instability within the Official Opposition, and just two days after Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned as B.C. Conservative leader.

BREAKING: BC SNAP ELECTION CALLED.
Eby appealed to citizens’ Trump Derangement Syndrome to try to get them to vote for the NDP for another four years.
BC didn’t become one of the most unaffordable housing markets, threaten our property rights, or develop a free-drug culture that… pic.twitter.com/3acum2F4Jc

— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) September 22, 2026

Findlay’s resignation, announced Sunday after fewer than four months at the helm, sent the party and many of its members scrambling to understand what would come next. Within hours, Conservative MLA Lorne Doerkson was appointed interim leader.

Kerry-Lynne Findlay has resigned. She tried her best to save the party but the knives were out from the very beginning. She was the “wrong winner” and was taken down in a most savage and vindictive attack.

The corrupt establishment in politics and the media will never allow… https://t.co/DsnhTN0v7H

— Dallas Brodie (@Dallas_Brodie) September 20, 2026

Now the party faces the prospect of fighting a provincewide election with an interim leader still learning the ropes, while Eby’s government faces growing scrutiny over its approach to Indigenous title and private property rights.

That scrutiny includes criticism surrounding Aboriginal title agreements and questions about whether the NDP government did enough to defend private property rights in court in the case involving Richmond-area landowners whose fee-simple properties were affected by the Cowichan Tribes v. Canada decision. The developments have become a politically sensitive test for the government as it heads into an unexpectedly early election campaign.

Findlay, viewed by many as a leader who would better represent the grassroots Conservatives, won the Conservative leadership contest on May 30, taking only 51 per cent of the vote after four rounds of voting. Her tenure was subsequently marked by defections by mostly former BC Liberals, expulsions and leaks coming from within the caucus.

BC POLITICS:

B.C. Conservative chaos EXPLAINED. pic.twitter.com/SNlyr52voQ

— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) September 5, 2026

The leadership upheaval intensified last week when former BC Liberal, and former B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad was expelled from the caucus, alongside two other MLAs.

MLA Lorne Doerkson now finds himself in the role of interim leader, with an election campaign already underway. The party has reportedly invited back only six of the 12 former members who exited under Findlay. Meanwhile, Peter Milobar and those who joined him have not cancelled plans to launch a new breakaway party, which Milobar would lead on an interim basis, despite finishing last in the B.C. Conservative leadership race.

The timing of Eby’s sneaky snap election creates an immediate complication for a closely watched political race in the Fraser Valley.

DEBATE: DRIPA & Residential Schools

We just got a taste of where the BC NDP, BC Conservatives, BC Greens, and CentreBC stand on the controversial Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and Canadian history during the Abbotsford-Mission by-election debate. pic.twitter.com/QtwzRXiJz1

— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) September 15, 2026

The Abbotsford-Mission by-election was supposed to take place Saturday, September 26, and now former B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay has been running and arguably winning debates when doing so.

The Abbotsford-Mission by-election was created after former Conservative MLA Reann Gasper resigned her seat, specifically clearing a path for Findlay to seek a seat in the legislature.

“We are at a crossroad,” said MLA Reann Gasper before humbly announcing that she will resign, giving B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay a path to a seat in the legislature. pic.twitter.com/rOt6jUhv8X

— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) August 23, 2026

Instead, now that an election has been called, the riding's campaign is now being folded into the general election meaning the parties now face the possibility of starting the candidate process again, opening the door to new nominations and potentially new candidates for Abbotsford-Mission.

Support Rebel News

Unlike almost all of our mainstream media competitors, Rebel News doesn’t receive any government funding. We rely on our generous audience to help keep us reporting.

Optional email code

Canadian Dollars U.S. Dollars Euros Australian Dollars British Pounds

Amount

$25

$50

$75

$100

$250

$500

$1,000

$2,500

Other

$

---

Donation frequency

One-time

Monthly

Annual

DONATE