Juggling children and a busy career is part of daily life for many British Columbians—but raising a family, leading the province and running an election campaign at once presents unique challenges for David Eby. The activist-turned-politician’s biography is well-known—having provided ample fodder for his critics over the years—but less-known are the ways Eby is supported by his wife, physician Cailey Lynch. “Cailey and I both have a strong sense of mission,” said Eby, sitting down with CTV News in the family’s Vancouver home. When the two met through mutual friends, they were both working in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside: Eby was a lawyer advocating for the homeless, while Lynch was a nurse at a supervised consumption site. They’re now navigating difficult schedules and the premier’s high-profile demands—all while raising three children under the age of 12. “Those early roots, doing that kind of work, it’s given us the stamina to keep going through the really difficult times,” said Lynch, who’s been a family doctor in Vancouver for the past five years with a roster of more than 1,200 patients. They rely on a combination of neighbours, friends and family for child-rearing help as they manage long hours on the job for Lynch, and the many days in Victoria or on the road for Eby. He’s very open about how fatherhood—as well as on-the-job experience as B.C.’s attorney general, then premier—has changed his perspective, values and priorities. “I very much believed there were very straightforward, simple solutions—that were not,” acknowledged Eby. “On all of these really deep problems—whether it’s drug policy or housing policy or now grocery costs—it’s not going to be one thing, it’s going to be an array of responses that gets at the core of it.” He has changed course on how street homeless are housed, backed down on his original plan around the decriminalization of personal possession of hard drugs, and stumbled to address public concerns about the implications of DRIPA and its conflation with the Cowichan decision. Despite that, Eby is standing by his core principles and continues to insist that his snap election call—while the opposition was in disarray and a municipal election was already underway—was necessary in order to secure a stable majority without the challenges of a one-seat advantage in the legislature. As he discusses how this province-wide campaign differs from his past door-to-door stumping, a rice cooker alerts the family that dinner is almost ready. Two-year-old Gwendolyn demands attention from Lynch, and inspects the TV lights and camera with great interest. On the other side of the kitchen, seven-year-old Iva is playing with her friends and eagerly brings the family’s newly-adopted kittens, Francesca and Finneas, to introduce them to CTV News viewers. Their son Ezra helps get footage of Lynch assembling a vegetarian stir fry. Some may recognize Ezra as the only of their children to speak up during the campaign—in an Instagram post making the case that kids his age should be able to participate in democracy. “12-year-olds should be able to vote,” he tells his dad on the NDP campaign bus. “Should all 12-year-olds be able to vote?” Eby responds. “Yeah!” says Ezra, pointing out that artificial intelligence is already having an impact on young folks. Lynch gets frustrated when she sees personal attacks against her husband, knowing the sacrifices and challenges they face in family life to be able to follow through on their values and the solutions they believe will make the province a better place for all British Columbians. “I can’t think of what other motivation would give you enough purpose to keep going forward with this particular brand of insane family life,” she says with a laugh, as Iva jumps into her lap and Gwen chases Finneas and Francesca. Eby’s growing family and the genial chaos of their home is an apt metaphor for his evolution from advocate to provincial leader working to convince voters to give him more time in office. “When I was working in the Downtown Eastside, my clients were the group that I advocated for full-on; then my circle expanded because I started representing (Vancouver-Point Grey), that’s the community I was advocating for full-on; and now the circle’s expanded, and now the whole province is the community I’m advocating for full-on,” he explained. “The tools available and how I do that have shifted, but the core of why I’m doing it and that drive to represent the community that I’m charged with representing is the same.”
