Eby ‘impatient’ to solve BC’s difficult housing, opioid and affordability issues

It's a comfortable place to talk about politics, the provincial election, family, stand-up comedy and B-movies, not in that order, said Eby, 48.

A good place to start is BC United leader Kevin Falcon's move to suspend his party's election campaign to support John Rustad's BC Conservative Party in a bid to unite the right. Eby said the NDP had expected this, but it surprised him.

“We always expected this because it has happened so many times in the history of this province that the right-wingers unite under a single banner,” he said. “What surprised me is that they did not unite under the banner of the centre-right party, as they have done for generations.”

The British Columbia Conservatives' “shift to the right” is asking voters to support a party whose leader believes in the reality of climate change, whose official has flashed a hand symbol associated with the alt-right movement and has elevated the voice of Jordan Peterson, “one of the most sexist commentators on the internet,” Eby said.

“Uniting under this banner sends a message to British Columbians that this is the direction they believe we should be going,” he said. “I've had many disagreements with the BC Liberals over the years, but they weren't over questions like whether gay rights are right, whether climate change is real, or whether women should be treated with dignity and respect and enjoy reproductive freedom.”

Eby surprised many this month by announcing that his government would exempt consumers from the long-standing carbon tax if the federal “legal safeguard” requiring the province to keep the tax in place was dropped.

He said he is committed and eager to address British Columbia's major issues in housing, affordability, health care and the overdose crisis.

“I feel that these issues are very urgent,” Eby said. “I can't wait for us to solve the health problems. I can't wait for us to build the things that people need, whether it's transportation, roads or anything else, and I can't wait for us to get a handle on the drug crisis and create affordable housing.”

“So I'm putting a lot of pressure on the government,” he said. “I'm urging people to do as much as they can on these things.”

George Heyman has known Eby since 2013, when the two Vancouver politicians were first elected to the British Columbia legislature. He said his colleague is quick to learn, absorbs information and is willing to make difficult decisions.

“David Eby is not afraid to break the paradigm of how we deal with very important problems, whether it's housing or opioid overdoses,” Heyman said. “He looks for solutions that make a difference, and he looks for ways to implement them as quickly and as thoroughly as possible.”

Eby's decision-making process involves listening to many different opinions from within the NDP caucus and from outside government, allowing the ideas to mature for a period of time and then bringing them back for further discussion, ultimately leading to a decision, Heyman said.

“He listens to people, is compassionate and focuses on finding the right mix of good policy for the future and meeting people where they are today,” he said.

Eby's style is “all or nothing,” says Prof. David Black, a political communications expert at Royal Roads University in Greater Victoria.

He demonstrated his approach when, as attorney general, he introduced reforms to restructure the publicly owned and debt-ridden Insurance Corporation of BC, Black said.

He said Eby has a “let's break the china and get some big things done” style.

He pointed out that in his 100-day speech after taking office as prime minister, Eby had accurately assessed the public mood and its key concerns: housing, affordability, health, public safety, the drug crisis and the environment.

Eby, who has never won an election as prime minister, took over the job in 2022 after former Prime Minister John Horgan retired for health reasons.

He and his wife, Cailey Lynch, a family physician, recently welcomed their third child, daughter Gwen.

Although they spend a lot of time at home, Eby said he and his wife are huge stand-up comedy fans and attend shows whenever they can.

“I enjoy it,” he said. “I think it's maybe the difference between the gravity and seriousness of these things that land on your desk at the premiere and the fact that comedians are able to turn some of the most serious and devastating things into something that can put a smile on your face.”

Eby, who has invited comedian Charles Demers to speak at that swearing-in ceremony in November 2022, often begins his own press conference by attempting to make a joke.

“I think jokes are a good way to connect with people and an audience,” he said.

While stand-up comedy is Eby's first choice for entertainment, B-movies follow closely behind.

His current favorite is the 2010 science fiction film “Stonehenge Apocalypse,” he said.

“It's magical,” Eby said. “It has all the great elements you could want.”

But he was always aware of the enormous challenge that came with this choice – Eby described it as “the most blatant decision of a generation”.

“For me, the significance of this election is particularly important in terms of whether we can preserve what has made us successful over the years of our cooperation as a province,” Eby said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published September 21, 2024.

Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press