This composite image shows, left to right, B.C. NDP Leader David Eby in Vancouver, on April 13, 2026; B.C. Conservative interim Leader Lorne Doerkson, in Vancouver, on Sept. 22, 2026; B.C. Green Party Leader Emily Lowan in Victoria, on Sept. 23, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck, Rich Lam, Kevin Light

By The Canadian Press

Three B.C. party leaders to face off in only televised debate of election

Oct 14, 2026 | 1:00 AM

The leaders of British Columbia’s three main parties are to face off today in their only debate of the snap provincial election.

NDP Leader David Eby, interim Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson and Green Leader Emily Lowan are to debate from 6:15 p.m. to 8 p.m., with all major television and radio networks broadcasting the event to be moderated by Angus Reid Institute president Shachi Kurl.

The leaders do not have any public events scheduled ahead of the debate, which is to be followed by a press conference that all three are expected to attend.

The debate comes after the Greens released their platform for the Oct. 24 election on Tuesday afternoon.

It promises new initiatives in health care, education and other social services worth almost $9.3 billion per year over the next two fiscal years, with new revenue coming from a one-time tax on “excessive wealth.”

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The party says the new levy would raise $22.2 billion in its first year and total additional revenue would top out at $25.3 billion in 2027-28

The Greens say their fiscal plan would raise an additional $9.14 billion in revenue from 2028-29 through higher taxes on the wealthiest British Columbians and nobody “who works for an income” would pay a single dollar more in tax than they currently do.

The Greens are the first party recognized in the legislature to release their platform, and their leader says it is an ambitious plan to transform B.C.

“It is a plan that looks beyond the failures of the status quo and beyond the wishes of the multinational corporations that have had a stranglehold on B.C. for far too long,” Lowan says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2026.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

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Three B.C. party leaders to face off in only televised debate of election

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