Thoughts on BC Politics and More

This blog page, which has been in existence for many years, has been replaced with a Substack page.  What you have found here, with commentaries from a number of writers on BC and federal politics, will continue ... just in a new location. If you are interested, please take a moment to subscribe at: https://substack.com/@alanforseth #bcpoli #cdnpoli

If you step back and look at the BC Conservative leadership race, which begin 81 days ago on January 16th, the real difference is not experience, it is approach. Caroline Elliott understands where voters are right now. People are tired of being managed, talked down to, and boxed into rigid policy frameworks. They want someone who reflects their concerns but can still operate in the real world. That is where she separates from someone like Kerry-Lynne Findlay. Findlay represents a more traditional style of politics. She brings experience, but also a more controlled and cautious approach that can feel rigid at a time when voters want responsiveness and adaptability. Elliott is positioning herself differently. She leans more socially conservative in tone, which connects with a base that feels ignored, but she is also showing a willingness to be pragmatic. That balance is what actually wins elections. If you are too rigid, you stall out. If you are too soft, you lose your base. The candida...

Last night, in Kamloops, I and a dozen others had the opportunity to meet with Conservative Party of BC leadership Candidate Kerry-Lynne Findlay. Including a brief Q&A, she spoke for an hour and a quarter on a number of topics, although the majority of that time was spent talking about issues surrounding the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). Like all other candidates, however, she has been clear in stating that under her leadership, and a BC Conservative government, it will be cancelled. She also spoke to the need for all conservatives to unite and come together as a single force against the NDP government of Premier David Eby. “ We need all the conservatives. We need conservatives to come together.  I'm talking to the independents ”, Findlay stated. She then went on to discuss what can’t be done right now, a direct reference to a deal the Fulmer campaign struck with OneBC leader Dallas Brodie just days ago. “ As a leadership contender, you...

Brennan Day, MLA for Courtenay–Comox and Critic for Rural and Seniors Health , is calling out the provincial government for failing to convene the Select Standing Committee on Health since 2022, and is demanding they explain why. Day has given notice to introduce a motion to reconvene the committee, which is responsible for examining healthcare issues in British Columbia, including long-term care and seniors’ services. “The Health Committee hasn’t met in four years,” said Day. “Not during a healthcare crisis. Not while ERs are closing. Not while 7,400 seniors are waiting for long-term care. That’s not a scheduling issue; that’s a decision.” In British Columbia, the government controls whether standing committees are called to meet. “They can call this committee tomorrow,” Day said. “Or they can explain to British Columbians why they won’t. I have been on this committee since February of 2025, and we have yet to meet; this is an insult to the millions of British Colum...

Claire Rattée, MLA for Skeena and Official Opposition Critic for Mental Health, Addictions and Housing Supports, is calling on the NDP government to immediately release critical addiction and public safety data following a direct request from leading BC researcher Dr. Julian Somers. In a letter sent to the Minister of Health , Dr. Somers, who advised the province for over two decades, is now asking the government to restore access to data his team was ordered to destroy in 2021, so long-delayed research on addiction policy can finally be completed. This is the moment of truth for this government,” said Rattée. “A respected, independent researcher is asking for the data to be released so British Columbians can finally see the results, and the government now has to decide whether it will allow that transparency.” “For years, British Columbians were told these policies were grounded in evidence. Now the very expert who helped build that evidence is saying the work was shut d...