Wasp in fatal encounter with David Eby on B.C. campaign trail

CHILLIWACK, B.C. — British Columbia NDP leader David Eby was upstaged by a wasp that flew down his shirt and stung him during a news conference.

Eby was delivering remarks in Chilliwack on Thursday while on the election campaign trail when the insect interrupted him, prompting him to swat at his neck and identify it as a “bug.”

But seconds later he was apparently stung, scrunching up his face in a grimace as he told reporters it was a bee that had made its way down his collar.

In fact, it was a yellowjacket that Eby eventually flung to the ground where it was later stepped on by a member of his staff.

The interruption was reminiscent of the moment in 2022 when Ontario Premier Doug Ford accidentally swallowed a bee during a news conference.

Eby said he was fine after being stung, but the encounter was probably “fatal” for the insect.

“The bee is not gonna make it,” he said.

Eby later quipped on social media platform X that “with three hungry kids at home, this bug will not go to waste.”

That was a reference to a speech by B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad in May last year in which he expressed concern about a cricket factory in Ontario, saying children should not be expected “to eat bugs.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press