VICTORIA – One of David Eby’s former top lieutenants says he came across as inauthentic during the BC NDP’s election campaign, calling last month’s crushing defeat a “harsh judgment” on the outgoing premier’s leadership and his decision to call the snap vote.
Brenda Bailey, who served as finance and jobs minister under Eby, contrasted him with premier-designate Lorne Doerkson, calling the B.C. Conservative leader a “deeply authentic man” and “very likable.”
Bailey says in an interview that she has successfully undergone cancer treatment and is taking a break from politics to enter the private sector, and while she is still a member of the NDP, “time will tell” if she remains in the party.
She says she doesn’t think Eby’s initial justification for the early election as a response to the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump resonated with even him, calling his announcement of the Oct. 24 vote and its reasons perhaps the worst press conference her former boss had ever delivered.
Bailey says Eby, who stepped down as NDP leader on election night, has “many redeeming qualities” but the “lumber-jacket-at-the-border-version” of him did not work, referring to an appearance by the premier in early September.
She says the Conservatives made a “brilliant strategic” move by making Doerkson their interim leader following the resignation of Kerry-Lynne Findlay, two days before the election call.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2026.
Note to readers:This is a corrected story. A previous version incorrectly reported that an appearance by David Eby at the United States border occurred during the British Columbia election campaign. In fact, it was in early September.
