BC Election 2026: Voting Underway Today — Eby vs Doerkson, Latest Polls, and When Results Come In

Today British Columbians get to answer the question David Eby has been dodging for five weeks: was this snap election ever a good idea? Polls opened this morning across all 93 ridings, and they stay open until 8 p.m. Pacific. By tonight, we will know whether the premier's gamble paid off — or whether it goes down as one of the most self-inflicted wounds in recent Canadian political history.

Eby called the vote two years early, and from the start it looked like a strange bet. His NDP held 47 of 93 seats at dissolution — a working majority. The opposition BC Conservatives were in open disarray after their leader, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, resigned on September 20, with 13 MLAs either leaving or being ousted. Eby first framed the call as an "existential moment," then pivoted to housing and affordability. Voters, it seems, were not buying the urgency.

The polls say this is the Conservatives' race to lose

That is the bluntest way to put it. A Mainstreet Research survey put the BC Conservatives at 44.7 per cent among decided voters, ahead of the NDP at 37.2 per cent, with the Greens at 11.2 per cent. An Ipsos poll in the final week showed the Conservatives ahead by five points. The Writ summed it up: "If the polls are right and the Conservatives do win, this election call will be one of the biggest unforced errors a sitting government has made in recent memory."

It would also make Lorne Doerkson, the interim Conservative leader who inherited the job weeks ago, Canada's most unlikely premier. According to Angus Reid Institute polling, nearly a third of British Columbians — 31 per cent — say they do not know enough about Doerkson to name something they like about him. That is either a liability or an opening, depending on how tonight goes.

What Eby is up against

The Angus Reid numbers on Eby himself are rough reading for an incumbent. Asked what they dislike about the premier, 24 per cent pointed to dishonesty or broken promises, and 20 per cent cited weak leadership. Innovative Research Group found his favourability had dropped seven points, from 40 to 33 per cent, since the election was called, while his unfavourables climbed to 39 per cent.

Green leader Emily Lowan has hammered that point all campaign. "David Eby called this snap election two years early for nobody but himself," she said — a line that has become the opposition's shorthand for the race. Lowan, strong in the leaders' debate according to analysts, also picked up a late endorsement from Vancouver mayor-elect Pete Fry.

What is actually on the ballot

Strip away the personalities and the issues are the ones British Columbians live with every day: housing affordability, health care access, and the environment. Beyond the big three, CentreBC under Elenore Sturko held 8 seats at dissolution and OneBC under Dallas Brodie held 2, though most of CentreBC's MLAs drifted back to the Conservatives. The NDP is not running a candidate in Peace River North, where its nomination paperwork was incomplete — a small embarrassment that says plenty about how rushed this exercise was.

If you are voting today, the basics: you need to be a Canadian citizen, 18 or older, and to have lived in B.C. since April 23, 2026. One piece of photo ID like a B.C. driver's licence works, or two documents showing your name and address. With no ID at all, a registered voter in your district can vouch for you.

When the results come in

Polls close at 8 p.m. Pacific — 11 p.m. Eastern — and Global BC's live coverage begins at 6 p.m. Watch the close ridings first: forecasters flagged Burnaby South-Metrotown, Kelowna Centre and Surrey-Newton as the tightest contests, and the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island will likely decide whether the Conservative poll lead becomes seats in the legislature.

One honest note before the results land: polls have been wrong before, and a five-point lead is not a coronation. If the NDP holds on, Eby will claim vindication for a call almost nobody understood. If it does not, tonight becomes a case study in how quickly a majority can be gambled away. Either way, British Columbians made the call today — and by midnight Eastern, the rest of Canada will know what they decided.

Note: No verified YouTube video of today's voting was available at the time of writing, so no video is embedded in this article.

Sources

• Lorne Doerkson set to become Canada's most unlikely premier — The Writ, October 24, 2026
• Eby vs. Doerkson: Perceived strengths and weaknesses — Angus Reid Institute, October 2026
• BC's Wide-Open Election — Innovative Research Group, September 2026
• British Columbia Survey, October 2026 — Mainstreet Research, October 2026

Photo: The British Columbia Parliament Buildings in Victoria. Photo by Podzemnik, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. (File photo — not from election day.)