Your Guide to Tyee BC Election Coverage

To many, B. C. Premier David Eby’s snap election call seemed like an odd choice. The government still had two years in its mandate. Big questions — like the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and the budget deficit — were left unanswered. Plus, all the best lawn sign spots had already been claimed by candidates for municipal government. If The Tyee’s Victoria bureau chief is put off, he’s not showing it. Andrew MacLeod said the election call has morphed into something of an early Christmas. “When they called it, I was definitely in the camp of, like, ‘Do we really need to do this now?’” he said. “But there are announcements every day, and there are people arguing about ideas, and you get into the spirit of it. So it is kind of fun.”MacLeod has covered seven previous provincial elections and nearly two decades’ worth of provincial politicking for The Tyee. This election cycle is no different. This week, he gives us the long view on campaign-trail drama and breaks down what this election is really about. Note: Episode transcripts may contain errors. Always check the corresponding audio before quoting any part of the transcript.

This summer, the Tyee began covering what was sure to be a fractured and fascinating civic election in Vancouver. Starting in July, we interviewed every major mayoral candidate, held a mayoral debate event and provided deep dives into key election topics such as crime and public safety, housing and parks and recreation. But you told us that would not be enough. And it made sense.

You gambled the nation and divided a province for your own shameless aims. Enough. Andrew Nikiforuk 23 Oct 2026The TyeeTyee contributing editor Andrew Nikiforuk is an award-winning journalist whose books and articles focus on epidemics, the energy industry, nature and more.

Tyler Heppell’s family farm in Surrey, B. C., is the first in Western Canada to harvest potatoes each year. The 200-acre property has sandy soil so tractors can move through wet fields that prevent other farmers from harvesting — supplying nearby grocery stores with local produce through May, June and July. But, despite its role in the local food system, the farm is not protected under B. C.’s Agricultural Land Reserve, or ALR. Heppell, a fifth-generation farmer, and his family rent the property from the federal government.

Eight years into a scandal-filled tenure as Brampton’s mayor, one version of Patrick Brown is a tireless public servant who transformed a dysfunctional city hall. The other is something else entirely. At the start of 2018, everything seemed to be going right for Patrick Brown. Then 39, Brown had risen steadily through Canadian politics: elected to Barrie city council at 22, then to Parliament and, in 2015, to the leadership of Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives (PCs). He had won as an outsider, promising a break from a party establishment that had lost four successive elections to the Liberals.