Vancouver-Point Grey

Vancouver-Point Grey encompasses the University of British Columbia campus, the University Endowment Lands, and the residential neighbourhoods of West Point Grey and western Kitsilano. The riding is split between a large transient student population centred on UBC and the established, affluent homeowners of Point Grey's leafy streets west of Arbutus. UBC is a major economic anchor, employing thousands and drawing a substantial international student population, while the Kitsilano portion features a mix of young professionals, families, and aging rental stock alongside high-value single-family homes.

David Eby won the seat in 2013, defeating then-Premier Christy Clark, and held it comfortably in 2017 and 2020. In November 2022, he succeeded John Horgan as NDP leader and Premier, making the riding the seat of the province's first minister heading into the 2024 election.

Candidates

David Eby (BC NDP) — A lawyer and former executive director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, Eby holds a law degree from Dalhousie University. As Attorney General from 2017 to 2022, he commissioned the Peter German investigations into money laundering through BC casinos and real estate, established the Cullen Commission, and overhauled ICBC's insurance model. He became Premier in November 2022 and led the NDP into the 2024 election on a platform centred on housing construction, health care recruitment, and affordability.

Paul Ratchford (Conservative Party) — Born in Kitsilano, Ratchford studied history and economics at Columbia University in New York before returning to Vancouver. He built a career in finance and technology and has lived in the riding with his family for more than a decade. He volunteered with StepUp, a grassroots homeowners' advocacy group.

Devyani Singh (BC Green Party) — A climate and energy policy researcher, Singh earned her PhD from UBC's Faculty of Forestry. She had contested Vancouver-Point Grey for the BC Greens in 2020 and also ran as the federal Green candidate in Vancouver-Quadra in 2021.

Local Issues

The Broadway Subway project's construction disruption and repeated delays were a significant source of frustration in the riding's Kitsilano neighbourhoods. Originally slated for completion in 2025, the opening was pushed back to 2027 after tunnelling and excavation took longer than anticipated. Small businesses along Broadway reported severe revenue losses, and commercial vacancy rates along the corridor climbed. The question of whether the line would eventually be extended beyond the Arbutus terminus to UBC — a proposal that had been discussed for decades — remained unresolved, and the university community pressed for a commitment before the election.

Housing affordability and densification were especially contentious in a riding that contained some of Vancouver's most expensive residential real estate alongside a massive rental-dependent student population. The NDP government's Bill 44, requiring multiplexes on single-family lots, applied directly to the detached-home neighbourhoods of Point Grey and western Kitsilano. Some homeowners viewed the legislation as an assault on neighbourhood character; others argued it was overdue. UBC continued to expand its on-campus housing stock, but the university's growth plans and the pandemic-era disruption to international student enrolment complicated the local rental market. Federal policy changes tightening study permit approvals added further uncertainty for the campus community.

Eby's dual role as Premier and local MLA gave the riding an outsized profile. His record on housing — including the speculation and vacancy tax, short-term rental regulations, and the aggressive densification legislation — was both a point of pride and a source of criticism in a constituency that encompassed both renters desperate for affordability and homeowners resistant to change. The broader provincial debates over drug decriminalization, health care staffing, and the Conservative surge played out with particular intensity in a riding where the premier's personal electoral performance carried symbolic weight for the NDP's prospects province-wide.