B.C. Conservatives prepare to move to power after decisive two-thirds majority

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Depner, W. (2026, October 25). B.C. Conservatives prepare to move to power after decisive two-thirds majority. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/british-columbia/lorne-doerkson-leads-b-c-conservatives-to-power-with-thumping-two-thirds-majority/article_0691a727-adaa-563d-afde-9c328900445b.html

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Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-25 · by Wolfgang Depner

Quick Summary

Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson's Conservative Party won a decisive victory in British Columbia, securing more than two-thirds of the 93-seat legislature with approximately 48% of the popular vote. Kim Henderson, a former deputy to previous Liberal premiers, will lead the transition team on an unpaid basis. The election outcome was stark for the NDP, which has been reduced to about 27 ridings and received around 37% of the vote. U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged the win, noting it is the first Conservative victory in British Columbia in nearly a century.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-26, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On October 24, 2026, British Columbia held an early provincial election called by then-NDP Premier David Eby, which resulted in a surprising victory for the Conservative Party led by interim leader Lorne Doerkson. The Conservatives won 64 out of 93 seats, marking their first electoral success since 1928 and ending nine years of NDP rule. Doerkson’s party campaigned on issues like doubling natural gas production by 2032, cutting red tape, and reaching out to energy providers. Eby's decision to call the election two years early backfired due to public discontent with his leadership, leading to a significant loss for the NDP, which secured only 27 seats. The results reflect a dramatic shift in British Columbia’s political landscape.

Written for “BC Election 2026 Results” on 2026-10-26, grounded in this article and the 19 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 BC Election 2026 Results
Politics · 20 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Globe and Mail
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 7% hedged 3 of 43 📰 publisher trust 53
“Both articles report on the same provincial election in British Columbia that occurred on the same day, discussing different aspects of the same electoral outcome and its immediate aftermath.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 2 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles describe the outcome of the same day's election in British Columbia, with the second article detailing the immediate aftermath and transition plans following a decisive victory.”
The Globe and Mail
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 12% hedged 2 of 16 📰 publisher trust 53
“Both articles describe the election results of the same day in British Columbia, with Article A covering the closing of polls and early tallying, while Article B reports on the Conservatives' decisive victory and subsequent preparations to form a new government.”
National Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right 🔴 9% hedged 4 of 44 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles discuss the Conservative Party of B.C. winning a majority government in the recent election.”
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans strongly right 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 12 📰 publisher trust 68
“Both articles report on the Conservative Party winning the election in British Columbia on October 25, 2026.”
CBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 1 📰 publisher trust 74
“Both articles describe the same election results for British Columbia, specifically the Conservatives forming a majority government on October 25, 2026.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 23 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles describe the Conservative Party winning the election in British Columbia on the same day, with similar details about Lorne Doerkson and the electoral outcome.”
The Globe and Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 2 📰 publisher trust 53
“Both articles report on the Conservative Party winning the majority in British Columbia's snap election on October 25, 2026.”
The Globe and Mail
⚖️ Centre 🔴 18% hedged 7 of 40 📰 publisher trust 53
“Both articles describe the specific event of the B.C. Conservatives winning a decisive election and the subsequent preparation for taking power, including the appointment of Kim Henderson to lead the transition team.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 2 📰 publisher trust 64
“Article A reports on Doerkson's re-election in a specific riding, while Article B covers the broader outcome of the Conservatives winning a majority government.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
20
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-26 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 9935 article(s) · 27 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 27 correction(s)
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Wolfgang Depner
26 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 A statement from the B.C. Conservatives says she will be chair of the transition team on a volunteer basis and will be taking an unpaid leave from the pipeline firm Trans Mountain Corp. where she took on the post of interim vice-president a year ago.
🔮 The British Columbia Conservatives say their platform will create $2.6 billion in new revenue over three years, while shrinking the deficit to $10.8 billion by 2030.
🔮 While he respects Lowan, she won’t be premier, and votes for her party could end up electing a Conservative government, he said.
🔮 Deloitte Canada cuts GDP growth forecast by 20% as tariffs grip economy amid Trump's trade war Trump's trade rep sounds pessimistic about deal with Canada, saying issues are 'quite difficult to resolve' The council says the U.S. Department of Commerce has imposed countervailing duties at 14.11 per cent, an anti-dumping rate of 10.64 per cent, and the additional tariff of 10 per cent, which U.S. President Donald Trump levied on the grounds of national security.
🔮 “Either he removes her, or he very clearly would only remove a candidate where they didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of winning,” he said.
🔮 Eby says his government would temporarily suspend the provincial motor fuel tax by 10 cents per litre for gas and diesel, while introducing what he calls a “price guard” to crack down on gouging at the pump.
🔮 VICTORIA - Lorne Doerkson says a future Conservative government in British Columbia under his leadership would not bring in new taxes, if elected on Oct. 24, when British Columbians head to the polls in a snap election called last week.
🔮 VICTORIA - British Columbia NDP Leader David Eby says his government would introduce a new tax on unsold condominiums and hike the existing speculation and vacancy tax to improve housing affordability if his party is re-elected on Oct. 24.
🔮 The appeal from Tim Thielmann, a lawyer and former research director for the Conservatives, comes as the party says its board would move to keep Doerkson in power should he succeed in the election called by NDP Leader David Eby.
🔮 Doerkson’s news conference in Richmond, B.C., would have been his first public event with his caucus since being appointed after Sunday’s resignation of Kerry-Lynne Findlay.
Also by Wolfgang Depner
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 26 articles by Wolfgang Depner →

Topics

B.C. British Columbia Conservatives NDP VANCOUVER

Subjects

Conservatives NORP · 6× Doerkson PERSON · 5× NDP ORG · 4× B.C. GPE · 3× British Columbia GPE · 2× Eby PERSON · 2× Greens ORG · 2× VANCOUVER GPE · 2× Kim Henderson PERSON · 1× Lorne Doerkson PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Doerkson said during his election speech last night that he will follow through on campaign promises to supercharge the provincial economy. Outgoing Premier David Eby announced his resignation as NDP leader, although he won his seat in Vancouver-Point Grey. Doerkson’s statement released Sunday says B.C. residents have voted for change and it’s the Conservative’s responsibility to deliver it. “That begins with building a government that is capable, disciplined and ready to get to work,” he says in the statement.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-26
🔮 A statement from the B.C. Conservatives says she will be chair of the transition team on a volunteer basis and will be taking an unpaid leave from the pipeline firm Trans Mountain Corp. where she took on the post of interim vice-president a year ago.

Claims (18 extracted, 0 hedged)

VANCOUVER - Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson is wasting no time after his Conservatives swept into power last night in British Columbia, announcing a former deputy to the premier to lead his transition team. asserted
Conservatives → waste → team
Kim Henderson spent more than a decade serving the previous Liberal governments of Christy Clark and Gordon Campbell as deputy minister, cabinet secretary and head of the B.C. public service. asserted
Henderson → spend → service
A statement from the B.C. Conservatives says she will be chair of the transition team on a volunteer basis and will be taking an unpaid leave from the pipeline firm Trans Mountain Corp. where she took on the post of interim vice-president a year ago. asserted
she → say → president
While a few ridings remain undeclared after last night’s election, it was resounding victory for Doerkson’s party with more than two-thirds of the 93-seat legislature going to the Conservatives. asserted
thirds → remain → Conservatives
The resounding win even drew the attention of the White House, with U.S. President Donald Trump posting on his social media account that the Conservative Party has won in British Columbia for the first time in almost 100 years. asserted
Party → draw → years
The post is accompanied by a composite of photos of Trump, Prime Minister Mark Carney, the B.C. Legislature and a map of Canada with the province coloured in red. asserted
province → accompany → red
Doerkson said during his election speech last night that he will follow through on campaign promises to supercharge the provincial economy. Outgoing Premier David Eby announced his resignation as NDP leader, although he won his seat in Vancouver-Point Grey. Doerkson’s statement released Sunday says B.C. residents have voted for change and it’s the Conservative’s responsibility to deliver it. “That begins with building a government that is capable, disciplined and ready to get to work,” he says in the statement. asserted
he → say → statement
Doerkson says Henderson’s experience, judgment and leadership will be invaluable as the party prepares to govern. asserted
party → say → ?
“I am incredibly grateful that she has agreed to take on this responsibility. asserted
she → agree → responsibility
British Columbians have placed their trust in us, and we will honour that trust by being ready to deliver from day one,” he says. asserted
he → place → day
Eby’s decision to call a snap election two years early will go down as one of the most disastrous miscalculations in Canadian political history. asserted
decision → call → history
The NDP has been reduced to about 27 ridings and the Greens won two, with Leader Emily Lowan securing a seat on Vancouver Island. asserted
Lowan → reduce → Island
By Sunday, the Conservatives were leading or elected in 64 ridings. asserted
Conservatives → lead → ridings
Four ridings were still too close to call, including in Burnaby South-Metrotown where the NDP candidate Paul Choi leads by fewer than 70 votes. asserted
candidate → call → votes
Preliminary results show the popular vote went to the Conservatives with about 48 per cent of the vote, while the NDP won about 37 per cent and the Greens 11 per cent. asserted
NDP → show → cent
Doerkson, who emerged from obscurity when he was named interim leader of the Conservatives just two days before Eby’s fateful election call on Sept. 22, is expected to stage his first news conference as premier-designate today. asserted
he → emerge → designate
Preliminary turnout was about 1.8 million, representing about 48 per cent of registered voters. asserted
turnout → represent → voters
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2026. asserted
report → publish → Press
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