Opinion: The Green leader has no seat and is in the debate. Two leaders with seats are left out. Publish the rule

This article is the opinion of the voche.me editors. The facts it relies on are listed with their sources at the end.

Five parties are running 33 candidates or more in this election. Three of their leaders will be on the debate stage on October 14.

Emily Lowan of the BC Greens is one of the three. The Canadian Press reported on September 22 that she "does not have a seat in the legislature".

Dallas Brodie of OneBC and Elenore Sturko of CentreBC are left out. Both hold seats.

The broadcasters who run the debate have not said what rule produced that result.

What the broadcasters said

The Canadian Press reported on October 6 that the group of broadcasters "says the criteria for a party leader to qualify for the debate was agreed upon by all its members, but it did not immediately respond to a request for details".

Global News listed the members: Global BC, CBC, CTV, CITY TV and CHEK.

The Western Standard wrote the same day that CentreBC and OneBC "have been excluded from the event without explanation".

The five leaders

• David Eby, BC NDP. Premier. 92 candidates.
• Lorne Doerkson, Conservative Party of BC. Member for Cariboo-Chilcotin, as The Canadian Press reported. 93 candidates.
• Emily Lowan, BC Greens. No seat. 73 candidates.
• Elenore Sturko, CentreBC. Victoria News listed her among the members who left the Conservatives for CentreBC. 35 candidates.
• Dallas Brodie, OneBC. Member for Vancouver-Quilchena, which she won as a Conservative in 2024, as The Canadian Press reported. 33 candidates.

The candidate counts are from Global News. CentreBC and OneBC have 68 candidates between them.

Four possible rules

Since the broadcasters have not published their rule, we tested four that a reasonable person might choose.

Rule one: the leader holds a seat. Mr. Eby, Mr. Doerkson, Ms. Sturko and Ms. Brodie pass. Ms. Lowan does not. This rule gives a stage of four, and a different four.

Rule two: the party won seats under its own name in the last election. Daily Hive reported that the BC Greens won two seats in 2024. Ms. Brodie won hers as a Conservative, and The Canadian Press described CentreBC as a breakaway party. This rule gives the stage of three that was chosen.

Rule three: the party has candidates in at least half of the 93 ridings. Half is 47. The Greens have 73. CentreBC has 35 and OneBC has 33. This rule gives the same three.

Rule four: the party has ten per cent in the polls. Leger had the Greens at 13 per cent, and OneBC and CentreBC at five per cent each. Liaison Strategies had the Greens at 11, CentreBC at four and OneBC at three. This rule gives the same three.

Three of the four rules produce the stage the broadcasters chose. One produces a different stage.

Who is affected

The two parties are small, and their supporters are still a real share of voters. In the Leger survey, OneBC and CentreBC had five per cent each. Together that is one decided voter in ten. In the Liaison Strategies survey the two had seven per cent between them.

The Angus Reid Institute found something else that matters here. Asked who would be the best premier, 36 per cent of British Columbians named Mr. Doerkson and 33 per cent named Mr. Eby. Another 31 per cent said neither of them is the best choice. Almost a third of British Columbians chose neither of the two largest parties' leaders. The debate is the one place they could compare all the others on the same question.

What can be said for the broadcasters

A fair reader should weigh three points.

Their choice can be defended. Three plain rules lead to it.

Five leaders in 105 minutes would leave each one 21 minutes. Three leaders get 35 minutes each.

The debate is the broadcasters' own event, carried on their own channels.

We have weighed these points, and we think the choice is reasonable. The silence is the problem. Voters in the ridings with a CentreBC or OneBC candidate will see those names on the ballot. They should be able to read why those leaders were left out, and judge the reason for themselves.

A rule that is published can be argued with. A rule that is kept private looks like a choice about people.

What we ask

Publish the rule before October 14. One paragraph is enough.

Next time, publish it on the day the election is called. A rule written before anyone knows who it leaves out is one that every party can accept.

Our article on the 105 minutes asks for a second debate and gives one question for each of the three leaders.

Read the sources below and decide for yourself. The debate is on October 14 from 6:15 pm to 8 pm Pacific time, and election day is October 24, 2026.