MAPLE RIDGE -- New Democrat Leader David Eby says some members of the Conservative Opposition have a vision to make British Columbia a protectorate of the United States, and its leader isn't doing enough to rein them in.
Eby says interim B.C. Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson can't stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump because he can't stand up to members of his own party whose ideologies align with MAGA-style politics to the south.
He criticized the decision by some Conservative caucus members to meet with U.S. ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra and says they suggested they would drop the province's ban on U.S. alcohol, something Doerkson has denied.
The NDP leader made his comments at a campaign event in Maple Ridge where he announced new procurement rules for public infrastructure projects.
Eby says the province needs to be its own best customer and his government would bring in new procurement rules requiring ministries, Crown agencies and health authorities to use products from B.C. and Canada when building projects.
He says the new approach would also immediately apply to the construction of the North Coast Transmission Line, ensuring that Canadian steel is used in 70 per cent of Phase 1 of the project and 100 per cent in Phase 2.
This report by was first published Sept. 24, 2026.