B.C. leaders clash in only televised election debate

The only televised debate before British Columbia’s Oct. 24 provincial election put NDP Leader David Eby, Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson and Green Leader Emily Lowan at odds over the economy, health care, public finances and Indigenous rights on Wednesday, Oct. 14. Eby defended his decision to call the election two years early, arguing his government’s one-vote majority could not deliver the changes he wanted. He said some members had voted from hospital beds to prevent the government from falling. The election call and its rationale became an early point of contention, as Doerkson and Lowan challenged Eby’s record. The candidates also clashed over the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Doerkson said he would repeal the law, while Lowan said it should remain in force and be implemented. Eby said the province should work in partnership with Indigenous people and noted that the government was appealing court rulings related to Indigenous rights. The debate exposed competing campaign positions; it did not settle the law’s future. Economic policy and the deficit featured prominently.