Less than two hours after David Eby walked out of Government House, his opponents had struck a deal. It was not what the British Columbia premier expected when he went in on Tuesday to ask Lieutenant Governor Wendy Cocchia to dissolve the legislature and call an election for October 24.
Eby had gone in expecting a split field: the official Opposition B.C. Conservatives on one side, CentreBC with eight legislators on the other. By afternoon seven CentreBC legislators had rejoined the Conservative caucus.
Eby’s case
Outside Government House, Eby called it an “existential moment” for the province and presented the vote as the answer to Donald Trump and his trade war. He mentioned the US president more than 20 times. He asked for a firebreak against the trade war and against “Trump-style politics.” “When you smell smoke you don’t sit and wait to see what happens next,” he said. He did not name Lorne Doerkson, his rival, once.
The Conservatives regroup
Until the day began it was unclear who the alternative premier would be. Doerkson, the interim Conservative leader, settled that. He had returned from an African vacation at the weekend to be drafted as Opposition leader after Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned. In two days he brought back a dozen or so legislators who had quit or been expelled from caucus during Findlay’s brief and troubled stretch as leader.
A former newspaper publisher from the Cariboo-Chilcotin riding, Doerkson spoke at Crab Park in Vancouver, flanked by caucus members and former candidates in the leadership race Findlay won in May. His rise surprised even him. “You know, this was a bit of a surprise to myself as well,” he said. He wants more than a caretaker’s role. “I’m running for premier right now,” he said, adding that after taking office he would continue as premier.
There is a catch. The Opposition’s constitution bars an interim leader from seeking the post permanently, and Doerkson did not say how he would get around that rule.
Asked about recent division in the ranks, he conceded the caucus is “pretty lively,” then said: “But we are back together here today and we are going to take on David Eby.” He also tried to put distance between his party and Trump, calling him “the bully south of the border.”
