Dew calls Eby’s snap election a “cynical” ploy that has “backfired entirely”

A B.C. Conservative candidate in Kelowna-Mission says Premier David Eby’s snap election is a “cynical, sneaky” move that has “backfired entirely,” and he predicts it will be remembered as “one of the greatest miscalculated own goals in BC political history.”

Gavin Dew, the party’s most recent finance critic, made the comments in an interview on The Really Big Show with hosts Jim Csek and Iain Burns, recorded Sept. 29 as the show began its provincial election coverage.

“There’s one reason we’re having this election and one reason only, and it is David Eby,” Dew said. He argued the premier timed the vote to overlap with the U.S. midterm elections. “And the reason he’s doing that is because it overlaps with the American midterm elections and he wants to run against Trump instead of running on his own record.”

Dew said Eby expected to face a divided opposition and instead helped unite it. “I think we should thank David Eby for doing all the work that he did to help us get reunified and get energized,” he said. The hosts put the election’s cost to taxpayers at $50 million. Dew said the cost will be “probably significantly more” than that.

He said the near-total overlap with municipal elections has angered people, because candidates for mayor, council and school board “have basically just been bigfooted by this provincial election.” Dew said 95 per cent of people at the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference voted for an emergency resolution asking Eby not to call the election.

Dew rejected the idea that the vote is needed to respond to the trade war with the United States. “The idea that somehow this snap election is saving us from the chaos of a trade war is malarkey,” he said. “It has thrown us into chaos.”

Asked about Conservative turmoil, Dew said the party went through a “tricky few months,” including a leadership race. He said he backed a different candidate than Kerry-Lynne Findlay but got behind her after she won, and served as her finance critic. He said Findlay did “a very honorable thing” by stepping back. Lorne Doerkson then became interim leader. Dew said Doerkson “used to ride rodeo,” ran small businesses for 30 years in Williams Lake, and was “pretty much the universal choice of people in caucus.” He called him “a reluctant leader who is extremely authentic.”

Asked whether voters should fear a return of dysfunction, Dew said the party has to show it is “a good government in waiting” and represents “safe change.” He pointed to new candidates, including Alex McMillan, a former CEO of the Business Council of British Columbia, who is running against Eby in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant.

Asked whether his party is far right, as the NDP has said, Dew answered: “No, I don’t think so.” He said the NDP wants to avoid its record, and cited a $13.8-billion deficit.

Dew, who chairs the party’s platform task force, said the platform will come out soon and is built around economic growth. A platform that would normally take six months has been assembled in six days, he said. On whether a Conservative government would make deep cuts, he said: “You can’t just cut your way out of it. You have to grow your way out of it.” He said the government has grown the public sector payroll by more than 40 per cent, mostly in middle management and consultant spending rather than front-line services, so there is room for improvement “without any kind of radicalism.”

Asked about NDP messaging that leans on U.S. President Donald Trump, he said: “David Eby is the real orange menace.” He said economic patriotism is measured “not by how loudly you denounce another country, but how strongly you support the strength of your own.”

The hosts also raised a photo Dew posted on X of a person slumped over the Ogopogo statue in Kelowna holding what appeared to be a pipe for smoking drugs. Dew said the photo was sent to a friend by someone who had called 911, and that it has been seen about 250,000 times. Several NDP MLAs criticized the post. Dew rejected that. “We can’t look away,” he said, adding: “And I’m pissed off.”

Dew said a Conservative government would pursue a full range of addiction services, including mandatory care. Asked whether the person in the photo would likely be in involuntary care under a Conservative government, he said that “probably is a potential solution,” though he said he did not know the individual’s situation. “There is no compassion in leaving somebody in a position like that,” he said. He said the government refuses to open the correctional centre in Oliver and that mayors and First Nations chiefs in the region have asked it to do so.

The hosts relayed concerns from Conservative members who feel Findlay was pushed aside and fear a more centrist party. Dew said the party must “recognize and respect the grassroots membership,” and that “we have to take some water with our wine” to defeat the NDP.

Asked whether a Conservative government would open itself to scrutiny and independent media, Dew said: “I’m a firm believer in access for media. I’m a firm believer in freedom of information.” He said the NDP’s Bill 9 amendments to freedom of information law amounted to “driving a stake into the heart of freedom of information.” During the interview, the hosts said the show’s emails to Eby’s office had gone unanswered.

In the final question, Dew was asked whether he would call an opportunistic early election if he were in government and the NDP were in disarray. Dew said “you never say never in politics,” but there is a line that crosses into “totally crass, cynical opportunism.” “My personal belief is that we are better off with a fixed election cycle,” he said.

The hosts said the show plans to interview as many candidates as it can during the campaign.

The Really Big Show also invited Premier David Eby to appear on the show, offering an interview at a time convenient for him. The BC NDP declined the invitation, responding: “Unfortunately we will not be able to make this work and must decline this opportunity.”