David Eby outlined his plans for his first 100 days in office Friday, after becoming premier-designate of British Columbia.
Eby, the province’s former attorney general and housing minister, was declared the head of the governing NDP following the abrupt end of the party’s leadership race this week.
The premier-designate said his focus in his first 100 days will be launching initiatives to expand affordable housing, shift fossil fuel subsidies to clean energy, and work on improving the province’s struggling health-care system.
“We have to address these issues for British Columbians. They are counting on us to do that,” Eby said, triggering cheering and applause from attendees of the press conference.
Two days earlier, the NDP executive rejected the candidacy of Eby’s only competitor, Anjali Appadurai, after a report found fraudulent memberships had been solicited on her behalf.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Eby acknowledged that the race ended on a contentious note, and took a moment to thank Appadurai for coming forward with her campaign.
“I want to say I look forward to working with Anjali and the people who signed up and care about these (environmental) issues,” said Eby. “Just because the leadership race is over, it does not mean those issues go away. I welcome you, I want to work with you.”
Appadurai says she will remain a member of the NDP and has no plans to stop her political activism.
“I categorically reject I am an outsider to this party,” she says.
During his address, Eby also thanked his predecessor and current B.C. premier, John Horgan, who announced his retirement in late June.
“I’m filling some pretty big shoes here stepping into this job,” Eby said, likening his relationship with Horgan to one between a coach and player. “John led our party to a historic majority government…I want to make sure voters have a very obvious choice when they come to the ballot box the next election that the NDP listens and delivers.”
When probed about whether British Columbians deserve another provincial election in light of Horgan’s retirement, Eby said he didn’t think voters want that.
“I’ve been all over the province. I’ve met with people both inside and outside the NDP, and I haven’t heard a single person say they are wanting an election right now,” Eby said. “They say our province is facing big challenges that they want our government to deliver on.”
While Horgan called for a snap election in 2020, Eby pledged to stick to a fixed election date.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
With files from Canadian Press
