Kelly McParland: Is this the most self-serving snap election in history?

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The next few weeks may be among the most consequential Canada has faced in many years, perhaps in decades.

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A future that was already rife with uncertainty faces a set of events of which the consequences are as potentially far-reaching as they are unpredictable.

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On Oct. 5 Quebec will hold an election to choose a government in place of the struggling Coalition Avenir Québec. While its lead has been weakening, the Parti Québécois still appears most likely to emerge as the winner with its pledge to hold yet another referendum on independence. Two weeks later Alberta will hold its own vote on a set of questions that include the possibility of a future referendum on whether it, too, should consider leaving Confederation.

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Looming over both these decisions are the Nov. 3 mid-term elections in the U.S., which will decide whether the Trump administration is able to continue its global rampage of destruction and disruption or face a Congress more willing and able to try and put a brake on it.

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Each of these represents potential dangers for Canada and Canadians. Taken together they constitute an immense challenge to sort out what kind of future the country can expect when so many of the decisions rest on events over which we have limited control.

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Into this cauldron of confusion, British Columbia’s New Democratic Party government is adding yet another risky venture. Though Premier David Eby is just two years into his mandate and faces no serious threat to his authority, he has called a snap election in hopes of catching opponents off guard.

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The possibility of a vote has nothing to do with offering stable, steady government in turbulent times, and everything to do with cynical, self-serving politics by a government hoping to exploit a chance opportunity to serve its own interests. Eby’s NDP came within a hair’s breadth of defeat in 2024 when disenchanted voters elevated the previously moribund Conservative party to within three seats of power. Only a quick accord with the Green party let Eby cling to office, followed by an internal war among Conservatives that has since granted Eby a level of certainty voters clearly had no intention of providing.

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B.C.’s Conservatives have shown themselves to be wholly unprepared for the opportunity that was handed them. Leader John Rustad was  forced out by a caucus rebellion a year ago. Kerry-Lynne Findlay was named his successor in May, only to announce her own resignation on Sunday after a growing crowd of members fled the caucus in response to her leadership style. Clearly excited by the opportunity, Eby quickly made clear he saw the Tory troubles as a chance to drag the province through a gratuitous and costly campaign.

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New Democrats argue they need a reinforced mandate to deal with the dangers of the Trump administration — even if it’s possible those dangers could be lessened by a Democratic success in the  midterms. Waiting for those results before making any rash moves might have been the more responsible track to take, but could also lessen Eby’s hopes of strengthening his own hold on his job. He also needs the spectre of Trump to divert attention from his own record, which has been unimpressive to say the least.

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A risky experiment in drug decriminalization proved both ineffective and widely unpopular, and was abandoned in January after months of complaints about crime and public drug use. The province’s once-solid financial record has eroded sharply under an explosion of borrowing and spending, rising inflation, tepid growth and rising unemployment. “The speed at which B.C.’s finances have deteriorated over the past five years is really quite extraordinary,” David Williams of the B.C. Business Council recently complained.