For the first time in its history, the BC NDP has failed to field a full slate in a provincial general election — breaking a streak dating to its first election under the NDP banner in 1963.
When nominations closed Saturday, Elections BC listed 92 New Democrats across 93 ridings. The BC Conservatives are the only party running candidates province-wide.
The NDP’s lone vacancy is Peace River North, as first reported by the Western Standard.
The party fielded candidates for all 52 legislative seats in its first B.C. general election under the NDP name in 1963 and has fielded a full slate in every provincial general election since — including its catastrophic 2001 collapse, when the governing party was reduced to just two seats.
This time, the party says paperwork was the problem.
According to CHEK News legislative bureau chief Rob Shaw, the NDP said it “did not get the paperwork complete for Peace River North.”
BC NDP campaign director Cheryl Oates similarly said the final candidate’s paperwork was incomplete.
Eby called the failure “disappointing.”
“But I will tell you that I have got 92 amazing candidates in this province that I would put against any of the Conservative candidates that they are putting forward,” he said.
The party has not publicly identified its intended Peace River North candidate.
Juno News asked the BC NDP who the candidate was, what was incomplete, when the problem was discovered and whether the party tried to correct it before the deadline.
The party did not respond.
The failed nomination comes after reports of recruitment problems following Eby’s decision to call an election two years ahead of schedule.
Shortly after the Sept. 22 writ drop, strategic communications consultant Jonathan Ross said campaign contacts were reporting “leadership fatigue and anger about the election call.”
Three days later, Ross reported a “woeful candidate recruitment process,” with campaigns “desperate for workers, lists and central support.”
Four cabinet ministers and six NDP incumbents ultimately declined to seek re-election.
The contrast with 2024 is stark. The NDP then celebrated its province-wide slate as Eby’s “strong team of 93 candidates.”
Peace River North voters will now choose between Independent incumbent Jordan Kealy and Conservative Curtis Whitford.
Kealy won the riding as a Conservative in 2024 with 74.36 per cent of the vote before leaving the caucus in March 2025. The NDP’s Ian McMahon received just 5.49 per cent.
The riding also presents an awkward political wrinkle for the NDP.
Kealy was charged in June with one count of sexual assault. The allegation has not been proven in court.
Earlier this year, then-Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee drafted legislation that would place MLAs charged with certain offences on leave and remove them from office if convicted.
Boultbee cited Kealy and Richmond Centre MLA Hon Chan, who faces separate assault-related charges that also remain unproven.
Shaw noted he had never heard of a governing party calling an early election and then failing to fill every riding, “especially when NDP justification was to win a stronger majority.”
There are 355 candidates running province-wide. The Conservatives have 93; the NDP have 92; Greens: 73; CentreBC: 35; and OneBC: 33.
Advance voting runs October 16 to 21, with final voting day October 24.
Here's hoping the NDP get zero seats.
Yeah, paperwork won't be complete if there's no one to fill it out. Anyone running for the NDP in that riding would have to wear a bag over his head. Looking forward to a spectacular drubbing.