David Eby is a determined problem-solver, taking real action on the challenges British Columbians are facing.
From working in Vancouver's Downtown East side as a human rights lawyer to defending people as BC's 37th Premier, David Eby has spent his life standing up to powerful interests — and getting results.
David grew up in Kitchener, Ontario, the eldest of four siblings.
His parents, Brian and Laura, strongly believed in the importance of fairness, and taught that value to their kids. David took it to heart from a young age.
After completing high school (where he was elected student council president) and an undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo, David began his studies at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University.
He quickly co-founded a group to promote equality called SALSA — the Social Activist Law Student Association, which still exists today.
I think part of where David’s sense of justice comes from is our family upbringing and what our parents instilled in us. If something’s not right, you speak up. If somebody needs help, you help them." - Patrick Eby, David’s brother
After finishing law school, David wanted to work where he could do the most good for people. So, in 2005, he started working in Canada's most diverse — and poorest — postal code: Vancouver's downtown eastside.
As he worked to protect British Columbians dealing with a growing housing crisis, David saw big problems that needed to be fixed for people — that right wing politicians were refusing to deal with them.
In 2011 David took on a new challenge so he could help more people: running against BC Liberal Premier, Christy Clark, in her riding of Vancouver Point-Grey, which had long voted for her party and its candidates.
David knocked on hundreds of doors and made thousands of calls, and listened to the people of the riding who felt like they had been neglected by the BC Liberals. A huge criticism of Christy Clark at the time was that she was never around. Her office was usually closed, she didn’t come to events in the community, and she never had time for people.
Right from the start, David did things differently. He connected with people and worked to understand their problems, so they could find solutions together.
Come election day, David made history — and has represented the people of Vancouver-Point Grey ever since.
Over the next four years, David worked hard for people to uncover and expose the entitlement and excess of the BC Liberals. He fought against the choices they made for their big money donors and how they hurt British Columbians.
David speaks in ways that are principled and committed to progressive values, showing that not only does the political left have answers to the big challenging questions, we have the best answers to them.” - Charlie Demers, author and comedian
When John Horgan became Premier in 2017, David became BC’s Attorney General to take on some of the worst ways BC Liberal policies favoured those at the top.
John put him in charge of some of the province’s most difficult challenges — extinguishing the BC Liberal ‘dumpster fire’ at ICBC and fighting criminal money laundering that inflated BC housing prices out of reach, and fueled the toxic drug crisis.
David rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
As the longest-serving Attorney General in the last 30 years, David delivered results for people.
He turned around ICBC’s finances and reduced the average driver’s car insurance rates by 20%. He led a successful crackdown on money laundering in casinos. He took on opioid manufacturers and delivered a first of its kind settlement to hold corporations accountable for the overdose crisis — the largest health cost recovery in Canadian history. The first bill he introduced in the legislature banned big money from provincial politics.
David became Minister of Housing in 2020 and started implementing creative solutions to tackle the housing crisis.
In the year and a half he led the ministry, he helped build thousands of homes all over the province and brought almost 5,000 people off the street and into housing.
On November 18, 2022, David became BC’s 37th premier, launching a 100 Days of Action plan to help people build a good life here.
On his first day he announced cost-of-living relief for BC Hydro ratepayers, and got to work taking on the big causes of inequality and the housing crisis.
I cannot think of another premier out there who is that principled, and that steeped in the issues, with such a commitment to resolving them" - Megan Leslie, former Deputy leader of Canada’s NDP, co-founder of SALSA
In his first eighteen months as Premier, David Eby has taken bold action for people.
To tackle the housing crisis, he and our BC NDP team have brought in tough new rules regulating short-term rentals to turn them into homes for people, along with updating zoning rules province-wide to allow for more townhouses, duplexes and triplexes. He's also introduced new initiatives to help renters, improve health care by hiring more doctors and nurses, and passed new laws to help keep communities and people safe. And there's so much more to do.
Through all of this, David remains a dedicated father, husband, pillow fort engineer and dad joke connoisseur.
He and his wife Cailey, a family doctor, welcomed their son Ezra in 2014 and their daughter Iva in 2019. They are eagerly awaiting the arrival of a third child in mid-2024.
What gets me energized to do this work is my kids — and it’s not just for them, it’s for their friends and their friends’ families, and for everyone in the province. I think we have so much potential, and we can realize that if we work together." - Premier David Eby