David Eby is being sworn in as the 37th premier of British Columbia at a ceremony in Vancouver on Friday.
Eby, 46, will take the oath of office with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin at the Musqueam Community Centre instead of the traditional venue of Government House in Victoria.
As premier-designate, Eby said he planned to hit the ground running to pass legislation, despite there being only four days remaining in the legislative session after he takes office.
He previously named housing, health care and public safety as his top priorities.
Eby is replacing outgoing Premier John Horgan, who is stepping down as premier due to health concerns following treatment last year for throat cancer.
CBC is streaming the swearing-in ceremony live.
Eby was born and raised in Kitchener, Ont., and moved to B.C. in the early 2000s after completing an undergraduate degree in “rhetoric and professional writing” at the University of Waterloo and earning a law degree at Dalhousie University.
He was a lawyer with the Pivot Legal Society in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside from 2005 to 2008. During that time, he advocated for the rights of the city’s homeless residents.
He later became executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.
Eby’s political career began with an unsuccessful run in Vancouver’s 2008 municipal election.
As the B.C. NDP candidate for Vancouver–Point Grey in a 2011 provincial byelection, he lost to then-premier Christy Clark.
In a 2013 rematch, Eby defeated Clark and has held the Vancouver–Point Grey riding ever since.
He was appointed B.C.’s attorney general in 2017 and housing minister in 2020, resigning from both positions when he announced his bid to become leader of the B.C. NDP in July.