BC NDP name interim party leader after provincial election misadventure | Daily Hive

Jennifer Whiteside. (Government of BC..)

Less than a week after the BC NDP’s snap provincial election completely backfired, the party has chosen Jennifer Whiteside as their interim party leader, marking the first step in rebuilding the party.

She will temporarily fill the role previously held by outgoing Premier David Eby, who resigned as the party’s leader on election night shortly after it became clear that Lorne Doerkson’s Conservative Party of British Columbia had won a decisive majority.

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Whiteside was re-elected in her riding of New Westminster-Coquitlam. She previously held the cabinet positions of B.C. Minister of Education during a portion of John Horgan’s administration and the B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions under Eby’s administration, until the standalone ministry for mental health and addictions returned to the purview of the B.C. Ministry of Health.

Additionally, Mike Farnworth, the BC NDP’s re-elected Port Coquitlam MLA and the outgoing B.C. Minister of Transportation and Transit, will become the BC NDP’s House Leader, while Niki Sharma, the BC NDP’s re-elected Vancouver-Hastings MLA and the outgoing attorney general and deputy premier, will be the party’s caucus leader.

The party is likely to hold its race to determine a permanent party leader in 2027.

The preliminary election results show the Conservatives leading with 63 MLA seats, followed by the BC NDP with 28 seats and the Green Party of British Columbia with two seats. Prior to the election, the BC NDP had a slim majority of 47 seats. The final election results will be established after Elections BC performs its final count from Nov. 6 to 10, which will take into account ballots that have yet to be counted.

During the provincial election campaign, the BC NDP had argued that the Conservatives could not guarantee who would become premier, as Doerkson was technically the party’s interim leader after Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s sudden resignation. Eby called the snap provincial election two days after Findlay resigned.

During a press conference this past Sunday, a day after election night, Premier-elect Doerkson addressed this potential ambiguity.

The Conservative Party’s constitution does not allow an interim leader to run for the permanent position. Changing those rules requires a two-thirds vote at an annual or special general meeting of the party.

However, the Conservative Party’s board had pledged during the campaign to pursue the changes needed to keep Doerkson as the leader if he became premier. When asked on Sunday how he would move from interim to permanent leader, Doerkson described the matter as merely an “administrative detail” and said more information would be available very soon.

“I will remain as leader of the party, and I’m thrilled to be the Premier-elect of British Columbia right now,” emphasized Doerkson.

Premier-elect Doerkson suggested his Conservative government’s first legislative session would most likely be in Spring 2027, but he did not completely rule out a brief legislative session for Fall 2026.

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