Eby humbled, but ‘ready to go’ back to work in first public appearance since election night

BC NDP Leader David Eby says the province’s unofficial voting results delivered a “strong message,” and if he assumes leadership, he “won’t take anything for granted.”

Eby made his first public appearance since the election Tuesday afternoon in Vancouver, addressing the fatalities and missing persons related to the atmospheric river over the weekend.

When asked how he felt about the election results — or lack thereof — Eby said he’s heard what he believes British Columbians are saying, “We need to do better.”

“If the counts come back for a minority governments or for an NDP majority government, we’re going to put those lessons into practice right away, working for British Columbians and get to work for them because they can’t afford to wait,” Eby said.

By current count, the BC NDP have secured 46 seats, while the BC Conservatives have secured 45. At least 47 seats are required to form a majority government, but two ridings are still facing a recount, with the final count expected between Oct. 26 and Oct. 28.

As it stands, the NDP appear to have lost 11 seats and five former cabinet ministers.

Eby said Tuesday it’s likely he’ll need the support of other MLAs and he isn’t opposed to meeting with the BC Green Party, whose elected members, he claims, have said they aren’t yet ready to engage in those conversations.

“Nothing’s off the table. We’ll have those conversations and we’ll find a way to make the legislature work for British Columbians on the priorities that they sent us back to Victoria to work on.”

Eby commended BC Conservatives Leader John Rustad on his “effective” campaign message on the subjects of healthcare and public safety.

“[British Columbians] want their emergency rooms open and running, they want their family doctor, and anything less is unacceptable. When it comes to their downtowns, they want to feel safe with their kids going downtown when they run a business downtown,” said Eby.

“That’s a lesson that I take: that we didn’t do enough and we’ve got to do more to make sure that we’re supporting those kinds of communities, those kinds of strong public services.”

On election night, Rustad said that he believes more seats may flip in favour of the Conservatives, as “there is just a couple of seats within 20, 30 votes.”

If the party secures a minority government, Rustad promised to challenge the BC NDP relentlessly.

“As the Conservative Party of British Columbia, if we’re in that situation, we are going to make it as difficult as possible for this NDP to do any more destruction of this province,” Rustad said.

Eby says his party is preparing for every possibility.

“Whatever the final configuration looks like after the count, we are doing the work right now to be ready to go on day one,” said Eby.

—With files from Michael Williams