A tepid majority, but a survivable one. That’s what Premier David Eby walked away with at the BC NDP convention this weekend, after two days that revealed as much tension inside the party as loyalty.

Eby received an 82 per cent endorsement from party delegates, down from the 93 per cent he received in 2023. It wasn’t great, lower than John Horgan’s 83 per cent in 2021, but it also wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

The premier had been eyeing the potential of the low-to-mid 70s before he began earnestly calling delegates and meeting with organized labour groups over the last three weeks. Such a result would have shortened his lifespan as party leader.

To avoid that fate, his government dumped a truckload of cash on unions and hoped nobody would notice the timing.

That included doubling skilled trades funding the day before the convention began.

The BC Building Trades and BC Federation of Labour had been pushing for almost two decades for such an investment. Both hold enormous sway amongst BC NDP delegates. And both had been angry with Eby over allowing BC Ferries to outsource ships to China, as well as blaming temporary foreign workers for stealing local jobs.

The government had been eyeing the $241-million funding boost as part of a forthcoming economic strategy. By rushing it out before the convention, it was able to quite literally buy last-minute votes for Eby’s leadership.

Still, that did not stop delegates over the weekend from sharply critiquing the government. The shipbuilding fight was the most potent symbol of Eby’s growing distance with labour.

“We have seen the latest round of major vessels go to China, my friends, we are at an inflection point,” BC Building Trades CEO Brynn Bourke told delegates on Saturday. “If we ever want to bring ferry construction back to British Columbia, we must act now.”

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© BIV