WATCH: Eby mum on calling snap election — but electoral reform off the table

BURNABY — During a press conference on Monday, Premier David Eby was asked, yes or no, whether he plans to call a snap election as early as the fall.

He dodged the question — but did make it clear his government has no interest in re-opening the conversation on electoral reform regardless of when British Columbians head to the polls next.

"We're preparing for the fall session," he said. "I understand that the Conservatives are in significant chaos — our focus remains on delivering for British Columbians."

When asked to "unequivocally" state that he would not call a fall election, Eby once again sidestepped the question.

Earlier in the press conference, Sitka Media brought up the fact that come fall there could be as many as six parties represented in the legislature, and asked whether that has caused the premier to reconsider electoral reform.

"I don’t think the chaos on the Conservative side of the aisle causes me in any way to revisit my position on proportional representation," he replied. "It went to British Columbians; they decided decisively not once, but twice on this issue."

Eby added that it's up to the Conservatives to sort themselves out if they want to be successful at the ballot box.

"The politics of the Conservatives, the infighting and all these other things, I'll leave that to them," he said.

BC nearly adopted a new electoral system in 2005, with 57.69% voting for reform in a referendum. Because the threshold had been set at 60% and not a simple majority, however, it did not pass. Fewer and fewer people expressed a desire for change in referendums over the following years, including the most recent in 2018.

In 2025, an all-party legislative committee recommended "establishing a peoples’ assembly to examine and make recommendations, in consultation with experts, on the model for electing Members of the Legislative Assembly." Premier David Eby refused to oblige, arguing that British Columbians are "done with that conversation."