What Can’t Eby Do Now Without an Election?

 

David Eby says British Columbia needs a new mandate to face Donald Trump. He has yet to name a single measure his existing majority could not pursue.

Trump’s tariffs are a serious threat to B.C. workers. But an external threat does not, by itself, explain an early provincial election. Eby already had a majority and nearly two years before the scheduled October 2028 vote. His government could bring forward budgets, laws and support for affected industries. What, precisely, was stopping it?

The BC NDP’s election announcement promises to keep U.S. alcohol off provincial shelves, support Canadian countermeasures, help tariff-hit workers and businesses, develop new markets, build infrastructure and train tradespeople. Some of those ideas deserve serious examination. The announcement supplies few costs, deadlines or measures of success; it says further details will come during the campaign. It does not identify a proposal blocked by the present legislature.

Forestry is where that missing explanation matters most. Trump did not create every problem facing B.C.’s mills. The province’s own figures show direct forest-sector employment fell from about 60,600 in 2018 to 49,500 in 2024—a loss of roughly 11,100 jobs before the latest escalation in U.S. tariffs. Those figures do not establish how many jobs were lost because of provincial policy. Fire, timber supply, costs, markets and trade measures have all affected the sector. It would be dishonest to assign all 11,100 losses to Eby—or to Trump.

The industry’s more recent estimate is starker: the BC Council of Forest Industries says more than 15,000 forestry jobs have been lost since 2022, and at least 21 lumber mills have closed permanently or indefinitely since 2023. That is an industry estimate using a different measure and period from the province’s direct-employment series. The council points to wood-supply constraints and the local cost and regulatory environment alongside weak markets and trade disputes. Eby should publish a credible account of how much of the damage his government can fix, what changes it will make, and when workers might see results.

Then there is the bill for his broader plan. B.C.’s 2026 budget forecasts deficits of $13.3 billion, $12.2 billion and $11.4 billion over the next three fiscal years. It projects taxpayer-supported debt rising from $116.5 billion at the end of 2025–26 to $189 billion by 2028–29—an increase of $72.5 billion. These are the government’s forecasts, not a prediction that every dollar will be spent exactly as planned. They are large enough to demand a clear answer: Is there an upper limit to borrowing, and what happens if the deficit does not fall as forecast?

Borrowing has a cost even when a government calls it an investment. Debt must be serviced from future budgets. Money committed to interest is money taxpayers cannot spend on other priorities without raising revenue or borrowing more. Eby should tell voters what debt-service costs he expects, what results the new spending will buy, and what he would cut or change if those results fail to appear.

An election can settle who governs. It cannot lower a tariff, reopen a mill or balance a budget by itself. Eby has asked British Columbians to vote again on October 24, one week after local election day, while the opposition is in turmoil. Voters should insist on an answer more useful than another warning about Trump: What can you do after this election that you could not do before it—and how much will it cost us?

Sources: BC NDP election announcement · B.C. forest-sector employment report · Council of Forest Industries statement · B.C. Budget 2026 fiscal plan · Elections BC.