The B.C. NDP caucus has chosen outgoing Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside as the party’s interim leader, following the governing party’s defeat in the Oct. 24 provincial election and the resignation of former leader David Eby.
Whiteside, the MLA for New Westminster-Coquitlam, served as labour minister in Eby’s government and previously held the education and mental health and addictions portfolios.
“We understand that British Columbians have sent us a very important message,” Whiteside told reporters at the B.C. legislature on Oct. 29 after the party’s incoming caucus selected her.
“They have asked that we sit as the official Opposition and we will take on that with determination and thoughtfulness, always putting people at the centre of everything we do.”
Whiteside said the party did not wait for the final vote count, scheduled for Nov. 10, because it wants to be ready to get back to work as soon as the legislature resumes sitting.
Whiteside said MLA Mike Farnworth will fill the role of house leader for the Opposition, while incumbent B.C. Deputy Premier and Attorney General Niki Sharma will serve as the party’s caucus chair.
Eby stepped down on the night of Oct. 24 after conceding defeat to the B.C. Conservatives, led by Lorne Doerkson, who won about two-thirds of the seats.
Eby had called the snap election less than two years into his mandate on Sept. 22, citing the uncertainty and instability caused by U.S. tariffs.
Whiteside said Eby was absent from both her selection as interim leader and the announcement.
Whiteside was born and raised in New Westminster, B.C. and obtained a degree in history from Simon Fraser University, according to her B.C. government profile.
She was first elected as an MLA for the riding of then-New Westminster and now New Westminster-Coquitlam in 2020. She was appointed the provincial minister of labour in 2024.
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