B.C. Tory leader ‘Trojan horse’ for extremists: Eby

VANCOUVER — NDP Leader David Eby says interim B.C. Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson is a cover for extremists in his party who could oust him if he is elected premier, as campaigning wraps up ahead of today's provincial vote.

Eby said it was the danger hanging over the snap election that has put his own political future on the line as he faces a rival who rose from obscurity to vie for the premiership.

“You may think you know what you are getting, but Mr. Doerkson is a Trojan horse filled with the most extreme views that British Columbians have ever seen running for office,” Eby said Friday.

“And we don't even know that he will be the leader post-election,” he said referring to Doerkson's status as interim party leader.

The B.C. Conservative Party has said it will do what it takes to retain Doerkson as leader if he becomes premier, although it has not explained how it will overcome the party's constitution that says an interim leader cannot run for the permanent leadership.

Eby was in the election battleground of Surrey on the final full day of campaigning Friday, before heading to campaign stops in Coquitlam and Langley, while Doerkson campaigned in his rival's home riding of Vancouver-Point Grey.

Doerkson's appearance in Eby's riding was intended to be a photo opportunity only, but he took questions from The Canadian Press, rejecting Eby's “Trojan horse” characterization as “absurd.”

“David Eby should go knock on doors, because the people I'm talking to here (indicate) he should have some concerns in his own riding,” he said.

He said he was committed to leading his party and to being premier if elected in today's vote.

But New Democrats have seized on the leadership uncertainty, saying that both Caroline Elliott, who finished second in the Conservative leadership race, and federal Conservative MP Aaron Gunn, are building up support for the leadership race to replace Doerkson.

Elliott and Gunn have since issued statements of support for Doerkson, but Eby didn't accept the claims.

“I do think it's telling that there are Conservatives that need to deny that they are seeking leadership at the upcoming leadership race, because there will be a leadership race, and the outcome is not certain about who will be premier if the Conservatives are elected.”

The closing stages of the election campaign have been dominated by the focus on Surrey, where Doerkson rallied on Thursday night alongside former premier Christie Clark and Surrey mayor-elect Doug McCallum.

McCallum told the crowd they had changed Surrey — which has 10 provincial ridings — and it was time to change B.C.

Eby has had shifting justifications about why he called the election.

He expressed some regret on Friday about the way he handled the early stages of the campaign, acknowledging British Columbians' were “surprised and frustrated” by his decision to go to the polls two years early.

He said at the time that the election was necessary to respond to the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump, but he said he now wishes he had been clearer about his rationale.

Eby has repeatedly said the composition of the legislature prevented him from taking big legislative swings, which he felt were needed.

“It's a very unusual moment, I will say, in B.C. politics, but I'm asking British Columbians for their support for that positive vision about where our province can go delivering for them and their families,” he said.

The legislature at dissolution consisted of 47 New Democrats, 29 Conservatives, two Greens, and 13 Independents, with two vacant seats.

Doerkson became interim leader on Sept. 20, just two days before Eby called the election.

— The Canadian Press