REGINA, Sask. – For the second provincial election in a row an incumbent government has been tossed out by the voters as British Columbia has elected a Conservative government.
The Conservatives are projected to form a majority government, with the party leading in 64 seats compared to 27 for the governing NDP and two for the Greens, as of 10:15 p.m. Saskatchewan time.
For the Conservatives it is a remarkable political turnaround following the chaos of earlier this fall, when several sitting MLAs had left the party and the leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned.
Soon after, NDP leader David Eby called an election two years early, only to see the Conservatives install Lorne Doerkson and bring back into the fold many of the MLAs who had left prior to the election. The decision by Eby to call an election proved controversial, with many voters seeing the move as opportunistic.
Eby has taken the stage where he conceded the election and congratulated the Conservatives on their victory. He also resigned as party leader.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has congratulated Doerkson publicly on his election victory on Moe's X social media feed.
"Congratulations to BC premier-elect @LDoerkson and the new B.C. Conservative government on today’s impressive win. We are never going to agree on football teams but I know there are a lot of other areas where we will work together to build our provinces within a strong and united Canada."
The change of government in British Columbia comes only weeks after Quebec voters tossed the ruling Coalition avenir Quebec under Christine Frechette, and elected a minority Parti Quebecois government under Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
