The authors of this op/ed are Darryl Seres and Robert McRudden
Darryl Seres is the Conservative Party of BC Candidate for Boundary–Similkameen in the south Okanagan, past party president, and currently serving his seventh term on the party’s Board of Directors.
Robert McRudden is past treasurer and past secretary of the Conservative Party of BC.
It seems that an increasing number of hard-working Canadians are gravitating toward big-C Conservative parties.
This has led to some confusion amongst the left, who have traditionally seen themselves as having locked down the working-class vote.
However, the reasons for this multi-year trend are actually fairly straightforward. Over time, the progressive parties in Canada have grown increasingly distant from the lives and interests of working- and middle-class Canadians. These parties advocate for elitist governance: rule by special interest groups, favoured activists, corporate lobbies, and “experts.”
The NDP crafts its policies based on what the culture war ideologues and union activists want. The Liberals have sold out to large corporations and lobbyists, often foreign, at the expense of small businesses and workers. And the Greens, while well-meaning, are held captive by the fringes of the eco-activist movement, who are unwilling to compromise.
Left out, as usual, are the interests of the middle class, and especially the interests of working Canadians. Working Canadians know who speaks up for their interests and who does not – they feel the bite of the recession and inflation more strongly. And they know this is due in large part to NDP and Liberal policies.
The carbon tax is the perfect example of this dynamic. When the carbon tax makes the price of fuel go up, the cost of heating and electricity goes up as well. It also increases the cost of groceries, clothing, and all other goods that have to be shipped or transported using the now-more-expensive fuel. This hits low-income Canadians, rural Canadians, and working-class families the hardest, because a much higher proportion of their total income is spent on carbon-taxed essentials. In the meantime, the wealthiest—those who consume the most—are affected the least.
The government spends hard-earned taxpayer dollars lavishly on trying to change other peoples' minds and not nearly enough on trying to improve the lives of workers. Left-wing governments can no longer competently deliver the basics. Where are the lasting and appropriate investments that will benefit communities and families for years to come? NDP and Liberal governments (plural!) can't even build a bridge (or is it a tunnel again?) to replace the George Massey. Infrastructure in the Lower Mainland is at least ten (fifteen?) years behind. Homes cost a fortune to build and can't be built fast enough, due in part to overregulation and the carbon tax on producing and transporting building materials.
Could it be that the BC NDP actually stands to lose the most from the revival of the Conservative Party of BC? Data analysis by Robert McRudden comparing federal and provincial elections show the BC NDP receiving as many as 50% more votes than the federal NDP in British Columbia. Meanwhile, the Liberals and Greens track provincially about the same as their federal counterparts. This naturally raises the question: how many Conservatives voted BC NDP when there was no BC Conservative on the ballot? As many as 1 in 3 BC NDP voters in 2020 could have voted Conservative in the 2021 federal election.
In the next provincial election, these 200,000+ federal Conservative voters will note the presence of a viable Conservative Party on the ballot across all ridings.
Conservative parties are now the only parties in Canada supporting all workers, including union workers, while supporting all jobs, not just public sector, union or “green” jobs.
Overinvestment in special interest groups and fashionable causes means underinvestment in our economy. And the pattern of underinvestment in our communities, infrastructure, and housing means we don’t have the luxury of choosing which jobs thrive and which don’t.
We need all jobs to thrive, all sectors to thrive, and all families to thrive.
Is it really any wonder working Canadians are increasingly choosing Conservative parties?
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