44th British Columbia general election
The 44th British Columbia general election will elect members of the Legislative Assembly to serve in the 44th Parliament of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Constitution Act requires that the election be held no later than October 21, 2028, but it may be called earlier.
Date of the election
Section 23 of British Columbia's Constitution Act provides that general elections occur on the third Saturday in October of the fourth calendar year after the last election. The previous election was held in 2024; the next election is therefore scheduled for October 21, 2028. The same section, though, makes the fixed election date subject to the lieutenant governor's prerogative to dissolve the Legislative Assembly as they see fit.Background
The 2024 British Columbia general election was held on October 19, 2024. The incumbent New Democratic Party, led by Premier David Eby, won a narrow majority government, marking their third consecutive term in office. The opposition BC United withdrew shortly before the election and endorsed the Conservative Party, led by John Rustad, who went on to form the official opposition. The Green Party remained steady with two seats, but leader Sonia Furstenau lost her seat. On December 13, the NDP and Greens announced a co-operation agreement.On January 28, 2025, Furstenau announced her resignation as Green Party leader. Jeremy Valeriote was named interim leader while the party organized [2025 Green Party of British Columbia|Green Party of British Columbia leadership election|a leadership election for September 2025], which was won by Emily Lowan.
After months of party infighting in the Conservative caucus, on December 3, 2025, a letter was sent to the Conservative party president on behalf of 20 Conservative MLAs calling for Rustad to be removed as leader. The MLAs, who remained anonymous, said they had "lost confidence" in his leadership. Rustad dismissed the letter and refused to step down. Subsequently, the party executive declared Rustad "professionally incapacitated" and thus removed him as leader, and named Trevor Halford as interim leader. Rustad disputed the legitimacy of his removal, saying "nothing has changed" and that he remains leader. The following day, Rustad announced his resignation as leader.
Timeline
2025
- January 28 – Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau announces her intention to resign. West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA Jeremy Valeriote is appointed as interim leader.
- March 7 – Dallas Brodie is removed from the Conservative caucus for comments about residential schools. Following this, Jordan Kealy and Tara Armstrong leave the Conservative caucus.
- June 9 – Brodie and Armstrong launch a new party called OneBC, with Brodie serving as interim leader and Armstrong the house leader.
- September 22 – Conservative leader John Rustad passes his leadership review with 70.66% support. Elenore Sturko is subsequently removed from the Conservative caucus.
- September 24 – Emily Lowan wins the 2025 Green Party of British Columbia leadership election.
- October 20 – Amelia Boultbee leaves the Conservative caucus to sit as an independent.
- November 15 – David Eby survives his leadership review with 82% support.
- December 3 – Rustad is removed as Conservative leader by the party's board of directors and caucus. He is replaced by Surrey-White Rock MLA Trevor Halford as interim leader. Rustad disputes the legitimacy of his removal.
- December 4 – Rustad announces his resignation as leader.
- December 13 – Brodie is removed as interim leader of OneBC.
- December 16 – Armstrong leaves OneBC to become an independent. The party loses representation in the legislature.
- December 21 – Brodie reassumes the leadership of OneBC after its board resigns following negotiations. The party regains representation in the legislature, but with few than 2 members it does not have official party status.