Provincial government changes are usually preceded by a period of intense animosity towards incumbents.

This can be particularly complicated for governments when the leader of the party that holds power was not elected by the people. Ujjal Dosanjh in British Columbia in 2001 – and more recently, Heather Stefanson in Manitoba last year – were premiers who led administrations briefly and commanded parties to election losses.

Other seemingly caretaker premiers have done better in their first “real” campaign. In Alberta, Alison Redford and Danielle Smith won elections in 2012 and 2023 after securing the leadership of their parties. It is still unclear what will happen in British Columbia, where the province’s premier, BC New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader David Eby, faces a challenge from John Rustad and the Conservative Party of BC.

Sonia Furstenau of the BC Greens will lead her party for the second time in a provincial campaign. Furstenau will go through the same experience of Jane Sterk, who debated in 2009 and 2013 against different leaders for the BC Liberals (Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark) and the BC NDP (Carole James and Adrian Dix).

We recently re-asked our battery of questions on issue management and leadership traits to take a last look at the perceptions of the electorate before the campaign begins. Across British Columbia, Eby holds the upper hand........

© BIV