Jennifer Whiteside has been officially named interim leader of the BC NDP — but the way in which the process unfolded has left many in the party concerned.
On Thursday morning, the BC NDP caucus emerged from their meeting at the legislature and told the media that they had unanimously recommended Whiteside as their person of choice.
News outlets ran with the story, declaring her the interim leader. The only problem was, the party's provincial council — the only body with constitutional authority to bestow that title — had not yet met to approve caucus' recommendation.
NEW — I've been informed by a reliable source within the BC NDP that there is "massive internal outrage" over caucus' decision to publicly recommend Jennifer Whiteside as interim leader before the provincial council approved.
— Jarryd Jäger (@JarrydJaeger) October 29, 2026
The body with the sole constitutional authority to…
A source familiar with the matter told Sitka Media that this had caused "massive internal outrage" among BC NDP members, who felt that caucus was overstepping.
The source explained that a letter had been going around asking for the decision to be delayed in order to better consult membership, however that move was not received well by caucus.
— Jarryd Jäger (@JarrydJaeger) October 29, 2026
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"Caucus recommending someone is fine," the source said, "but them announcing the person before they are approved by the only body with constitutional authority to do so is not acceptable."
They warned that many members were taking it as a sign of what’s to come in the ensuing leadership race.
The provincial council met at 6pm, as planned, however the meeting went much longer than expected. At one point, a motion was introduced to delay Whiteside's confirmation.
At the end of the day, the body approved caucus' recommendation — though not unanimously — and she was named interim leader. According to the source, Whiteside apologized on behalf of caucus over their decision to tell the media before the council had made its decision.
Sitka Media was told that most are pleased with her, despite how the process unfolded.
“It is not an outcome I was necessarily expecting," the former New Westminster-Coquitlam MLA-elect told reporters at the Legislature on Thursday morning, per CBC News. “We are very focused on making sure that British Columbians understand that we are standing for them, that we have their backs, and we will continue to do that work in the opposition caucus.”
The party also named Mike Farnworth house leader and Niki Sharma caucus chair in what many described as an emotional caucus meeting. Eby did not attend in-person or virtually.
Whiteside, born and raised in New Westminster, was first elected in 2020, and went on to hold numerous Cabinet positions, including minister of education, minister of mental health and addictions, and minister of labour.
Prior to entering political life, she was the chief spokesperson and lead negotiator for the Hospital Employees’ Union and lead the province's first campaign for a living wage.
Now-former premier David Eby stepped down as head of the party on Saturday following his defeat to the BC Conservatives.
