Eby admitted he's "not perfect." Doerkson called his record "devastation." The B.C. debate, in 5 moments

British Columbia's three main party leaders faced off Wednesday night in the only televised debate of the province's snap election, with NDP Leader David Eby spending much of the evening defending nine years of his government's record against Conservative interim leader Lorne Doerkson and Green Leader Emily Lowan, The Canadian Press reported.

The standout moment came when Eby acknowledged his government's imperfections outright. "Look, I'm not perfect, but I will always act in the best interests of British Columbians, and that's my commitment to you and your family," he said Wednesday, according to CP. He repeated the line in the post-debate press scrum, saying he held himself "accountable to British Columbians."

Doerkson framed the whole contest around the snap election call itself: "We are here because David Eby called a snap election. He called a snap election, because he saw opportunity for himself, and I see opportunity for British Columbians." Eby countered that he needed a stronger mandate, noting the Conservatives had tried to bring down his government 13 times. "This was not a government that was able to deliver the big swings that you and your family need government to be taking for you," he said, per CP.

The night kept circling back to the economy and a record $14-billion deficit. Eby said he would never balance the books "on the backs of British Columbians," arguing past B.C. Liberal "so-called balanced budgets" came at the cost of school land sell-offs. "We know what Conservatives do when they need money," he said. "They cut … and they will do it again." Doerkson, who has led the Conservatives for less than four weeks, said his party would "supercharge" the provincial economy without raising existing taxes or introducing new ones — promising tax cuts, less bureaucratic bloat and fully funded public health care. He told reporters after the debate he is committed to releasing a fully costed platform before voting begins; the Conservatives remain the only party without one.

The health-care and wealth-tax clashes

Lowan hammered Eby's record on health care, calling it "staggering" that 1.2 million British Columbians do not have access to a family doctor. "Your record has been marred with broken promises," she said. "This year's election bribes are next year's broken promises." Eby, in turn, accused the Conservatives of planning to privatize health care, an approach he likened to Alberta's.

The Green leader defended her party's newly released platform — a tax on the ultra-wealthy and large corporations that she said would generate $22.2 billion in its first year and around $5.4 billion in subsequent years — calling it a "fully costed, credible plan" to deal with the deficit. She also promised to push for electoral reform if the Greens hold the balance of power, pitching proportional representation as the way out of a "lesser evils" choice. Three past attempts to change B.C.'s first-past-the-post system have failed to gain public support, CP noted.

Indigenous rights produced the night's sharpest policy split. Eby said there had been "challenging" court rulings on Indigenous rights, which the government is appealing, but insisted the only path forward was partnership: "We cannot afford to have major projects tied up in the court." Doerkson committed to repealing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, saying it had created division. Lowan called that conclusion "ridiculous," saying First Nations leaders had been "unequivocal" that DRIPA must be implemented — and that it does not threaten private property.

The debate began on a combative note when Eby interrupted Doerkson to demand why he had not removed his campaign director, Katy Merrifield, over online posts about Islam that he likened to "the worst corners of the dark web." Doerkson said Merrifield was a survivor of sexual violence who had "acted out in a moment of trauma," adding: "The fact is that I've given her grace, I would have hoped that you might have too." He countered by pointing to allegations of antisemitism in the NDP caucus from former legislature member Selina Robinson.

There was an unexpected coda. After the three leaders finished, the leaders of CentreBC and OneBC — Elenore Sturko and Dallas Brodie, both former B.C. Conservatives — delivered brief video statements. Moderator Shachi Kurl said neither party qualified for the debate because they did not field enough candidates. Brodie said OneBC would push for a 25 per cent income tax cut and a two per cent PST cut, and said her party would "stop the greed and corruption of the reconciliation industry" — a line that drew attention in post-debate coverage.

Advance voting begins Friday and runs Oct. 16–21, with voting day Oct. 24. Poll aggregation by The Writ has the Conservatives as roughly two-to-one favourites — about 44.8 per cent of the vote and leading in 51 seats, to 40 for the NDP and 2 for the Greens — though poll-based seat projections are estimates, not results.