BC Political Discussion: Election 2024 & 43rd Parliament

[logicbomb]

Originally Posted by chowhou

There's also a federal blue wave on the rise, and I don't think the average voter cares too much about whether a party is federal or provincial as long as it's blue.

True. There's an overall shift to the right due to the Liberals and Trudeau. Overall, this nation is screwed regardless due to unfettered immigration which is being done to prop up the GDP and supress wages. PP continues to segway from any discourse around immigration. The Libs are crap. NDP are content with relegating themselves to a fringe party.

Provincially, I think the BC NDP have done well when it comes to housing and investing into social programs. The issue is their 2 biggest blunders are massive and cannot be ignored.

Decriminalization of drugs has made things worse.

Cancelling the George Massey Bridge was a horrific move and we are going to be worse off with the final product.

[Migrant_Coconut]

According to some posters here (who were apparently in the room), the bridge was never even geotechnically possible - the Libs just wanted a big, flashy campaign promise to keep Delta on board.

[CanSpice]

Originally Posted by logicbomb

Decriminalization of drugs has made things worse.

For the record, the BCNDP reversed course on this and asked that public consumption of some drugs be recriminalized.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

According to some posters here (who were apparently in the room), the bridge was never even geotechnically possible - the Libs just wanted a big, flashy campaign promise to keep Delta on board.

This is a completely false narrative, an attempt to rewrite history. I know people (family) high up in the pile driving industry who were part of the bidding on the project. It was very doable and was in motion. The preferred big was pretty much already settled.

You don't spend 100 million dollars in pre construction works for something that isn't on solid footings.

It was going to require deep piling, yes, but it was far from "impossible."

There is only one forum member that spouts that rumor and they have been debunked on it every time.

[whatnext]

A little skullduggery in the incestuous world of Vancouver politics?

'Playing field not level': Jeanette Ashe drops out of NDP nomination race in Vancouver-Yaletown
NDP provincial director Heather Stoutenburg said the party has received no formal complaints from Ashe about the nomination process
Author of the article: Alec Lazenby
Published Jul 25, 2024

The B.C. NDP are disputing Jeanette Ashe’s version of events after the Douglas College professor and political equity advocate bowed out of the party’s Vancouver-Yaletown nomination race over complaints that the party had tilted the outcome in favour of Terry Yung, a Vancouver police inspector and husband of Vancouver city Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung.

“I’m sad to say I’m writing to let you know that I’m no longer seeking the B.C. NDP nomination in Vancouver-Yaletown. Thank you for taking the time to chat and to reach out; I really appreciate your support,” Ashe, who is also the wife of former Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart, wrote in an email to party members that was posted to social media by CKNW radio host Jas Johal.

“It has recently come to my attention that the Vancouver-Yaletown nomination process has been compromised and the playing field is not level.”

Ashe’s resignation led to rumours that the Premier’s Office and party executives had given Yung a leg up in the race, similar to the Vancouver-Little Mountain race in April where Premier David Eby’s wife, Cailey Lynch, came out in support of longtime family friend and Vancouver Coun. Christine Boyle....

....The Tories have put forward Melissa De Genova, former Vancouver city councillor and ex-park board commissioner. B.C. United and the Greens both have yet to select a candidate in the riding.

University of the Fraser Valley political scientist Hamish Telford said the complaints raised by Ashe are indicative of a larger problem within Canada’s political system, namely that party leaders at the provincial and federal levels can overrule grassroots constituency associations without any repercussions...

https://vancouversun.com/news/ndp-no...ouver-yaletown

[bluefox]

Originally Posted by whatnext

A little skullduggery in the incestuous world of Vancouver politics?

'Playing field not level': Jeanette Ashe drops out of NDP nomination race in Vancouver-Yaletown
NDP provincial director Heather Stoutenburg said the party has received no formal complaints from Ashe about the nomination process

Personally, I think this is a great move for the BC NDP (and, in all honesty, parties have the right to control candidate nominations, whether or not it's "fair"). If a potential candidate is going to be a problem, why would HQ risk them winning the nomination? Electoral politics is a bloodbath, always has been. You would think someone as plugged in as Ashe would understand this.

Kennedy Stewart doesn't seem to appreciate how unpopular he still is. Forward is dead, and whatever organization is left has essentially devolved into a mailing list where they just air grievances and try to sell Kennedy's book to pay off their campaign debts from 2022. Case in point - I voted for him in 2022, but at this point, I just want him to go away, because every time I get an email from them, it just leaves me rolling my eyes. I'm sure I'm not alone in that.

So, really, it's no surprise that Ashe would decide it a savvy move to try to blow the lid off this by following the same script... send out a grumpy email to supporters, complain that things are unfair, all the while knowing that it's going to conjure up memories of the leadership campaign disqualification, which is still recent. Overall, a great way to be blacklisted for life. So IMO, this was a huge miscalculation by the Stewart/Ashe camp.

The NDP clearly want a candidate installed who can win that seat. They do really need someone more moderate, to try to lock down that soft, centrist condo-dweller vote in Yaletown. Especially now that we see what candidates the other parties are running. It's the same reason they ran Brenda Bailey in False Creek in 2020; a textbook social democrat may not have won the seat despite the orange wave in Metro Vancouver. Ashe should have quietly dropped out and played nice so she could have a shot at a nomination somewhere else.

[madog222]

There goes another...

Teresa Wat 4th B.C. United MLA to defect to B.C. Conservatives

B.C. United's director of communications, Adam Wilson, says in a statement that Teresa Wat, who represents Richmond North Centre, has indicated her intention to join John Rustad's B.C. Conservatives.

Wat was elected under the B.C. Liberal banner three times beginning in 2013, prior to the party changing its name to B.C. United.

From The Canadian Press https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...ives-1.7279501

[SpongeG]

The United party is asking to have added on the ballots for the election (Formerly BC Liberals) they are hovering around 10% in the polls, pretty bad.

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/0...ection-ballot/

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

The United party is asking to have added on the ballots for the election (Formerly BC Liberals) they are hovering around 10% in the polls, pretty bad.

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/0...ection-ballot/

Sort of like "the artist formerly known as Prince".

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

The United party is asking to have added on the ballots for the election (Formerly BC Liberals) they are hovering around 10% in the polls, pretty bad.

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/0...ection-ballot/

This period of political history is definitely going to get a paragraph in some advertising, management, and sociology textbooks. I honestly felt a tinge of painful empathy seeing that article, like watching a dog get hit by a car and cry out for help.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by chowhou

This period of political history is definitely going to get a paragraph in some advertising, management, and sociology textbooks. I honestly felt a tinge of painful empathy seeing that article, like watching a dog get hit by a car and cry out for help.

One wonders when the powers behind BC United will decide its time to pull the plug.

[BaddieB]

New poll has the BCNDP at 41 and the BCC at 38. What's interesting though is how well the NDP polls with older folks.

The BC NDP remains popular among women (47%) and decided voters aged 35-to-54 (42%) and aged 55 and over (49%). The BC Conservatives are first among men (41%) and decided voters aged 18-to-34 (45%).

And considering that younger voters see far worse turn out, and that there are just more older people in general, I would predict that the BCNDP will do better in the election than they are polling (at least whatever polls show in October).

https://researchco.ca/2024/07/30/bcpoli-july2024/

I just can't wait for this election (and the US election) to get over with. I hate waiting.

I feel as though the US election ramping up by October will be in the NDP's favor, for obvious reasons.

[madog222]

A few months ago I was expecting United to slightly trail the Conservatives in popular vote on election day but they are completely collapsing. Polling behind the Greens is ridiculous. It now looks like United picking up zero seats is likely.

Originally Posted by BaddieB

I would predict that the BCNDP will do better in the election than they are polling (at least whatever polls show in October).

Definitely, province wide popular vote polls mean little towards predicting seat counts.

[VantageHD]

The extreme policies of the far left NDP is ruining this province. I can't believe the ndp is polling so high! Honest question, what is working well under this government? What are people in the lower mainland seeing that others outside that population centre not seeing? This province could be a power house, but the incompetent government officials somehow keep getting the lower mainland vote. I don't understand

[giallo]

^ Which extreme policies of the NDP bother you the most?

If I was a single issue voter, the NDP's new housing policies under Eby would steer me in their direction. In order to get this province operating at a high level, housing must be fixed. Without reasonably-priced housing, BC's competitive edge will continue to slip nationally and globally. You can't have janitors paying $3000 a month to live in Burnaby. It's just not sustainable.

[casper]

Originally Posted by VantageHD

The extreme policies of the far left NDP is ruining this province. I can't believe the ndp is polling so high! Honest question, what is working well under this government? What are people in the lower mainland seeing that others outside that population centre not seeing? This province could be a power house, but the incompetent government officials somehow keep getting the lower mainland vote. I don't understand

The United Party (aka Liberals) were pandering to the conservative voters. When the more conservative element started to leave, the united party started to look a bit more attractive. I think their environment position in weak. Now that they are in self destruct mode that leaves only the NDP and Greens as viable choices.

So the NDP it is.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by VantageHD

This province could be a power house

In what way, natural resource extraction and export?

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by casper

The United Party (aka Liberals) were pandering to the conservative voters. When the more conservative element started to leave, the united party started to look a bit more attractive. I think their environment position in weak. Now that they are in self destruct mode that leaves only the NDP and Greens as viable choices.

So the NDP it is.

Ya it looks like BC parties are just turning into the ones that are in Alberta. I know a lot of Islanders won't like that version of the NDP, but a lot of others will. Resource extraction is a big part of the national economy and you can't just say "stop logging" or "no more oil / gas exports".

Horgan opposing Trans Mountain the way they did made me really unimpressed.

[BaddieB]

Originally Posted by VantageHD

The extreme policies of the far left NDP is ruining this province. I can't believe the ndp is polling so high! Honest question, what is working well under this government? What are people in the lower mainland seeing that others outside that population centre not seeing? This province could be a power house, but the incompetent government officials somehow keep getting the lower mainland vote. I don't understand

I would agree with you if the NDP was still at the helm of Horgan, but it is now the party of David Eby and the main reason in my opinion to support them is housing reform. The housing delegation the NDP has put forward is extremely pragmatic, and something that anyone who says they love capitalism and free markets should whole heartedly support. Basically any problem in this province stems from expensive housing, and they should be rewarded for their boldness on that file.

Other reasons include a lack of any corruption scandals and not being run by people who are actually legitimately stupid and incompetent (see Ontario).

They're not a perfect party, just the better option.

[ecbin]

Originally Posted by VantageHD

The extreme policies of the far left NDP is ruining this province. I can't believe the ndp is polling so high! Honest question, what is working well under this government? What are people in the lower mainland seeing that others outside that population centre not seeing? This province could be a power house, but the incompetent government officials somehow keep getting the lower mainland vote. I don't understand

What are these extreme policies that you don't like? I've been both a Liberal and NDP voter over the years and the Horgan/Eby era has been pretty darn good IMO - this era and the Campbell era are the ones that I have the highest ratings on.