The office overseeing elections in British Columbia says the provincial NDP under Leader David Eby is not running candidates in all 93 ridings.
Elections BC says in a statement that the B.C. New Democratic Party has 92 candidates after failing to nominate a representative in the riding of Peace River North.
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The statement shows that only the B.C. Conservatives are fielding a complete roster of candidates in the snap election scheduled for Oct. 24.
Elections BC says the Greens are running 73 candidates, while CentreBC has 35 candidates, two more than OneBC.
Royal Roads University associate professor and political analyst David Black says Vancouver Island could become an important battleground for candidates.
“The Island is make it or break it for two parties who are in a position to form government. Of course, the incumbent NDP, the party in government, and the official opposition, the Conservative Party,” Black said.
He says the island has historically been an NDP stronghold, adding this election could shift the tide.
B.C. New Democrats are currently projected to win 15 of 17 seats across the island, Sunshine Coast and Haida Gwaii, which Black says has previously helped the NDP secure a majority governent.
However, Black says there are three ridings on Vancouver Island that are considered a toss up where there could be some shifts.
He says the North Island, Courtenay-Comox and Juan de Fuca-Malahat ridings could see some movement.
“We think of Vancouver Island as a fairly safe place for NDP incumbents. The Conservative vote here remains really quite strong,” Black said.
“They often finish, not in every riding, but in most ridings, a respectable second or third, really across the entire Island. So where there’s vote splitting, that Conservative strength will show itself.”
He adds that the Greens could win the popular vote in a few Island ridings where they are strong, which could be bad news for the NDP.
“They always do risk splitting the NDP vote and allowing the Conservatives to come up the middle,” Black said.
Black says that with no clear current frontrunner, the real challenge for the leaders will be taking control of the election narrative.
“One way of beating your opponent is to erode their string holds and the NDP is unlikely to perform especially well in the Conservative strongholds, as they did in 2020, when the NDP cleaned up in the Fraser Valley,” Black said.
“So this is a target for the Conservatives and I’m sure they will give a lot of attention to flipping even a couple of seats. That could be the margin between losing and winning for Lorne Doerkson and his Conservatives.
Both CentreBC and OneBC splintered from the provincial Conservatives, who say in a statement that their full slate of candidates reflects the enthusiasm for the party.
B.C. New Democrats, meanwhile, say in a statement that their roster of representatives is more diverse.
Black says in this snap election, every seat matters.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2026.
-With files from CHEK’s Mackenzie Read