Lieutenant Governor Of British Columbia Accept David Eby As Next Premier Of British Columbia

The Honourable Janet Austin, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, has met with Premier John Horgan, and has accepted his advice that David Eby become the next premier of British Columbia.

The Lieutenant Governor has also accepted Premier Horgan's resignation, effective on the date Eby will be sworn in.

Austin also met with premier-designate Eby and says she looks forward to administering his oath of office in the near future.

The B.C. government says the official swearing-in ceremony will happen in the ‘near future’ at some point during the current session of the legislature, which ends in November.

“Usually a government would adjourn a legislative session for transition to take place. That’s not what we’ve done. We have this session happening right now while the transition is also happening. So my goal is to be sworn in as Premier and be able to sit in the legislature during this session to be accountable in that way,” he said.

The premier designate says some of his top priorities, once sworn in, will surround housing and public safety.

“My goal over the next few weeks will be to work through with our team what the world of the possible is and to do my best to get into the legislature before the end of the session in order to be able to deliver on these goals,” Eby said.

A statement from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor says Austin “extends her sincerest gratitude to the Honorable John Horgan for his many years of service to the Province.”

Eby will become the province’s 37th premier overall, and sixth from the NDP. He will be replacing Horgan, the longest-serving NDP premier, who announced this summer that he would be stepping down.

Last week, Eby became the leader of the BC NDP after his only challenger, Anjali Appadurai, was disqualified from the race.