When Premier David Eby unveiled his new cabinet on Nov. 18, he poked fun at himself over a close election that nearly cost him his office.
"I would like to thank Elections BC," he said. "They are going to provide us with updates throughout my speech B次元官网网址 you are not going to miss anything."
Eby was referring to the fact that his single-seat majority government did not become declared reality until Nov. 8 B次元官网网址 nearly three weeks after election day. Officials first needed to complete the judicial recount for the riding of Surrey-Guildford where New Democrat Garry Begg had come from behind to retain his seat by 22 votes.
Begg trailed Conservative Honveer Singh Randhawa by 103 votes, when British Columbians had gone to bed on Oct. 19. He started making up that difference once officials started counting mail-in and absentee ballots in the days that followed. But his victory B次元官网网址 and with it Eby's fate as head of a majority government B次元官网网址 was not certain until the judicial recount.
While a one-seat majority is preferable to a minority, Eby knows voters sent him a message. His party holds 47 seats, eight fewer than at dissolution. New Democratic losses included not just backbenchers, but senior cabinet ministers. The Conservative Party of B.C. won 44 seats, nearly sweeping the Interior and making major in-roads in the fast-growing, ethnically diverse suburbs of Vancouver.
Conservatives even gained seats on Vancouver Island B次元官网网址 a traditional New Democratic stronghold -- and punctured an aura of inevitability and invincibility that surrounded New Democrats at the start of the year.
"When you have a near-death experience as a politician, it focuses the mind," Eby told business leaders in early December. "This is the last time I want to hit re-fresh on Elections BC's website B次元官网网址 ever. I understand that to do that, we are going to have to deliver for British Columbians, and I understand that to deliver for British Columbians on their priorities, we can't do it without the people in this room."
This recognition of political realities also rang through in Eby's year-end-interview with Black Press Media.
B次元官网网址淲e did lose seats and the message I took...we need to be focused in a way that delivers for people on the key priorities that they want us to work on."
These include building provincial infrastructure and "delivering the services that people are looking for, health care and education, and addressing affordability and growing the economy."
To that end, Eby struck an agreement with the B.C. Greens on a set of policy goals in exchange for support from their two MLAs adding stability to his government.
And he says critics questioning the pace of his government are wrong.
B次元官网网址淭he work has already started,B次元官网网址 he said. B次元官网网址淲e have had ministers go down to (Los Angeles) to promote the film industry and the work that we are doing on the tax credit reform to grow that that sector in the provinceB次元官网网址e have got our Minister of Forests all over the province meeting with stakeholders (to deal with) the crisis in that industry. The Minister of Finance is working on the affordability credit right now.B次元官网网址
Eby also promised 90 per cent of B.C. households would receive $1,000 to help with bills starting in 2025, first as a rebate, then as a permanent tax cut.
B次元官网网址淚 know the urgency,B次元官网网址 he said. B次元官网网址淚 know that people need support right away and we are also designing it for the long term. We are doing a tax cut going forward to support families. This isnB次元官网网址檛 a temporary tax holiday.B次元官网网址
B次元官网网址淲herever we can find opportunities to support families, we are going to do it," he continued, pointing to an upcoming review of ICBC. B次元官网网址淲e have got work to do with BC Ferries around some of the challenges that Crown corporation is facing (and) keeping hydro rates low.
"So we are going to continue to do that work to ensure affordability and also recognize we are at the bottom of the economic cycle. There are big pressures on our budget.B次元官网网址
Some economists may consider that an understatement given a budget deficit at an all-time high of $9 billion. Eby has already signalled some belt-tightening measures while promising to grow the economy, which he called necessary for delivering services.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檒l paraphrase our finance minister, but you canB次元官网网址檛 pour from an empty cup,B次元官网网址 Eby told business leaders last week. B次元官网网址淵ou canB次元官网网址檛 deliver high-quality services that people need without a way to pay for those services. And that payment is generated through the prosperity and wealth generation from our province, through the economy.
B次元官网网址淲e have to make sure that we are showing declining deficits over time, that weB次元官网网址檝e got a path back to balance.B次元官网网址
Critics have not been kind of EbyB次元官网网址檚 fiscal management skills, nor his ability to bring new economic projects to B.C.
B次元官网网址淏.C. is now so un-competitive we canB次元官网网址檛 even get investment here when government throws money at projects,B次元官网网址 ConservativesB次元官网网址 finance critic Peter Milobar said on X after a Taiwanese company paused a battery plant project in Maple Ridge. Both Ottawa and Victoria had touted the $1 billion project a major step toward building a clean economy and subsidized it.
Milobar also pointed to in-limbo plans for a $2-billion clean hydrogen project in Prince George and long-standing concerns about forestry permitting delays as evidence of Eby over-promising and under-delivering.
Eby, naturally, rejects the argument, pointing to critical minerals and energy as opportunities.
B次元官网网址淲e have got some big challenges ahead with the president-elect threatening major tariffs. The silver lining of that is bringing business together in the province, bringing labour together, to respond to this threat. It gives us the opportunity to do a few things, to talk about other issues about how to grow our economy.B次元官网网址
He intends to "deepen and strengthen our relationship with the AmericansB次元官网网址 but B次元官网网址渁lso expand our trade presence overseas with other trading partnersB次元官网网址 and B次元官网网址渄eal with long-standing permitting and delay issues around getting major projects across the line."
B次元官网网址淲e will take this crisis as Mr. Trump has presented us with and turn it into an opportunity. We know that it is critically important.B次元官网网址
Concerns about the economic direction of the B.C. cannot be divorced from larger political trends that favour protectionism and populism. Eby did not shy away from that when he addressed supporters on Oct. 19.
B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 know what the final count is going to be in the province, but what we do know is that there was a clear majority for the progressive values that are so important to all of us here in this room,B次元官网网址 Eby said.
B次元官网网址淢ore than half of British Columbians (53.1 per cent) voted for parties with progressive values. I think though that there is an important lesson in the election. It was extremely close.B次元官网网址
How that split breaks down in the legislature is relevant. All but five New Democrats represent Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Conservatives, meanwhile, dominate in suburban but rapidly urbanizing Surrey, the Fraser Valley and most of the Interior.
Eby has promised to bridge the rural-urban divide in B.C. and some of the cabinet appointments, especially Josie Osborne as health minister, point in that direction. But Eby has also articulated a test when it comes to working B次元官网网址 or not B次元官网网址 with Conservative MLAs.
B次元官网网址淥pen racism from Conservative candidates, open homophobia, anti-Muslim sentiment, anti-woman sentiment B次元官网网址 and those are bright lines for us,B次元官网网址 Eby told the CBC in early November.
He acknowledged it is B次元官网网址渕ore challengingB次元官网网址 to represent the entire province without MLAs in certain parts of the province.
B次元官网网址淪o we are going to need to make extra efforts to ensure that we are hearing the voices from across the province and that we are acting for them.B次元官网网址
B次元官网网址淚f you want to advanceB次元官网网址 proposal that promotes discrimination, hate, racism, misogyny, all those different things that we have heard from Conservative candidates, thereB次元官网网址檚 just no time for that. But if you want to advance a proposal as a Conservative MLA that benefits British Columbians, that addresses the core priorities, I think that we could see helpful proposals from Conservatives that could actually be advanced.B次元官网网址
Eby specifically pointed to new rules that promise to give private member bills more room.
B次元官网网址淚 hope that they use that time for constructive proposals that are going to benefit British Columbians. But if they donB次元官网网址檛, if they want to advance some kind of imagined culture war that they are fighting that actually just hurts people, then itB次元官网网址檚 just not going to work. ThatB次元官网网址檚 what I am talking about.B次元官网网址