Lorne Doerkson is set to become British Columbia’s next premier after leading the Conservative Party of B.C. to a victory in today’s provincial general election, ending decade of provincial rule under the BC NDP.
The Conservatives are now projected to form a majority government.
As of 8:52 p.m., the Conservatives are leading in 63 ridings, compared with 29 ridings for the BC NDP, one riding for the Green Party of British Columbia. In order to form a majority government, a party needs to secure 47 of the 93 MLA seats in the provincial legislature.
The result puts Doerkson on course to become B.C.’s 38th premier and its first premier under a party called the Conservatives since Simon Fraser Tolmie left office in 1933.
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Doerkson was first elected in the riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin in the 2020 provincial general election under the banner of the BC Liberals, before that party became BC United. He crossed to the Conservatives in May 2024, when his arrival brought their caucus to just three MLAs, and was re-elected under the Conservative party during that year’s provincial general election.
Born in New Westminster and raised in Surrey, Doerkson built his career in Williams Lake, working in newspaper publishing and later financial planning before entering provincial politics.
Doerkson took over as interim Conservative leader just over a month ago on Sept. 20, after Kerry-Lynne Findlay suddenly resigned, following a series of controversies, internal party infighting, and departures from the party’s caucus. Less than five weeks later, Doerkson has led the party from internal turmoil to an election victory.
On Sept. 22, just two days after Doerkson’s appointment, Premier David Eby called the snap provincial election, sending British Columbians back to the polls almost exactly two years ahead of schedule. Several legislators who had left the Conservatives returned as Doerkson moved to reunite the party for the campaign.
Eby argued that a renewed mandate was needed to confront the economic threats posed by U.S. President Donald Trump and reduce B.C.’s dependence on the American market. The election call came during a period of upheaval among his political opponents, but has ultimately completely backfired and cut short his own government’s term by up to two years. With a majority government, the next provincial general election was previously scheduled for October 2028, until Eby dissolved the legislature last month.
The BC NDP had narrowly held on to power in the October 2024 election, winning 47 seats against the Conservatives’ 44 seats and two seats for the BC Greens. That gave the BC NDP the bare minimum number of seats required to hold a majority.
The party has governed since July 2017, when John Horgan first became premier. Eby succeeded Horgan in November 2022 and led the BC NDP through the closely fought 2024 election.
More to come…
