Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

ROTHENBURGER -- No matter who they come up with to replace Myhill-Jones, it’s going to be a two-party race, and the NDP isn’t going to be in it


An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

OH, HOW FAR they have fallen.

The recent resignation of Gina Myhill-Jones as the NDP candidate in Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo is symbolic of the general state of the New Democrats’ fortunes in Canadian politics right now.

Myhill-Jones was a candidate who did little more than fill a place on the ballot for the NDP. No matter what her convictions and party loyalty, she was never going to rise higher than a third-place finish at best.

The loss of even a place-holder candidate is a severe embarrassment for the party but it’s typical of what’s going on at the national level.

Former NDP candidate Gina Myhill-Jones
Gone are the heady days when Jack Layton led the party to official opposition status in the Orange Crush of 2011, with the NDP taking 103 seats in the federal election.

The NDP’s star burned bright but briefly, turning into an Orange Crash in 2015, and there’s been no sign of resurgence since, certainly not under the leadership of Jagmeet Singh.

National polls show the NDP hanging on to third place some 20 percentage points behind both the Liberals and Conservatives and barely higher than the Greens.

If the election was held now, the New Democrats would hold roughly 20 seats, likely losing a few to the Green Party.

In Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo, their chances look similar to the national picture. No matter who they come up with to replace Myhill-Jones, it’s going to be a two-party race, and the NDP isn’t going to be in it.

The local election will be between the Liberals and Conservatives, just as the federal election will be.

Far from being the threat they once were, the NDP is on the brink of annihilation, and there will be some deep navel-gazing to be done after it’s all over.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and former newspaper editor. He publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board.

He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Budget 2027: After a Decade of Decline, NDP Budget Delivers an Assault on Seniors, Working Families, and Small Businesses

Peter Milobar, BC Conservative Finance Critic, condemned the NDP government’s latest budget as the result of a decade of decline that has left British Columbians broke, unsafe, and paying more for less.   “After ten years of NDP mismanagement, this budget is an assault on seniors, working families, and the small businesses that drive our economy,” said Milobar. “The NDP have turned their back on the people working hardest to make ends meet and the seniors who built this province.” Milobar pointed to a new $1.1 billion annual income tax increase and warned that the government is piling new costs onto households already struggling with affordability.   “This government keeps asking British Columbians for more, while delivering less,” Milobar said. “The question people are asking is simple: Where has all the money gone?” Milobar noted that BC has gone from a surplus in the first year of NDP government to a projected deficit of more than $13 billion this year, while prov...
Post a Comment
Read more

WARD STAMER -- Those are REAL forestry numbers, not just made-up numbers

The following is a condensed version of remarks Kamloops – North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer’s made, regarding Forestry, in the BC Legislature, on Tuesday afternoon (02/24/2026)   Let’s talk a little bit, when we talk about Budget 2026, about the forest industry, which is near and dear to my heart. Forestry remains one of British Columbia’s foundational industries. It’s a pillar that built this province. Entire communities depend upon it. Interior towns, northern communities, Vancouver Island regions, the Kootenays, the Lower Mainland, with manufacturing facilities in Surrey and Maple Ridge, just to name a few — everywhere in BC is touched by forestry. One word that was not mentioned in Budget 2026 was forestry. That’s a shame, an incredible shame. It wasn’t an oversight – it was intentional. This government has driven forestry into the ground .... INTO THE GROUND! We can talk a little bit about some of the initiatives that this government has brought forth, to try to resurrect ...
Post a Comment
Read more

FORSETH -- Before anyone gets excited about one poll showing a candidate with a 25 percent lead, and 44 percent support overall, let’s give it a few more weeks

Is this based in reality -- how accurate are the numbers? In the past couple of weeks a couple of candidates, for the leadership of the BC Conservative Party, have been presenting polling results that they lead the pack – one even going so far as to say they have a lock on 44% of those who will be voting, and a twenty-five percent lead over the individual ranked second. I am going to say that this one, from Kerry-Lynne Findlay, is highly suspect. First of all the company conducting the poll, ERG National Research, is not a Member of Industry Bodies (the Canadian Research Insights Council), meaning they do not adhere to established industry standards for research, such as transparency, privacy, and methodological rigor. AI Overview states that ... based on alerts from the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC) and reports, ERG National Research should be treated with extreme caution regarding its reliability, and legitimacy, in conducting political polling. Before I even read this in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more