Eby says Doerkson a Conservative ‘Trojan horse’ as B.C. campaign wraps

VANCOUVER — NDP Leader David Eby is describing interim B.C. Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson as a “Trojan horse” because of the more extreme elements of his party, as campaigning wraps up ahead of Saturday’s provincial election.

Eby also expressed some regret about the way he handled the early stages of the campaign, acknowledging British Columbians were “surprised and frustrated” by his decision to go to the polls two years early.

He had said at the time that the election was necessary to respond to the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump, but he now says he wishes he’d been clearer about the “stalled” nature of the legislature, where the NDP held a one-seat majority.

Eby was speaking at a campaign stop in Surrey where both he and Doerkson have been focused in the last week of the election.

He says British Columbians may think they know what they are getting with Doerkson, but he may not even be the Conservatives’ leader after the election.

Doerkson rallied in Surrey on Thursday night alongside former premier Christie Clark and Surrey mayor-elect Doug McCallum, but is campaigning in Eby’s home riding of Vancouver-Point Grey today.

Doerkson has no availability with reporters today, for at least the third day this week.

Friday is the last full day of campaigning in the election ahead of final voting day Saturday when most ballots will be counted by hand.

Elections BC confirmed that votes cast on election day will be tallied manually on Saturday, in a departure from 2024, when electronic tabulators were used to count paper ballots for the first time in a general election.

That was hailed as a success in Elections BC’s report on the polls, but the agency said in a statement that it was going back to a manual count due to “short time frames and complex operational logistics of a snap election.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.