Thoughts on BC Politics and More

The biggest problem grassroots parties have, by the way that's a dumb term, is an adherence to ideological purity.   First, grassroots a dumb term and that is important.  Every party maintains a connection to their local constituents. That's where the volunteers and money comes from. As parties grow some members feel that the party has moved away from its grassroots.  That's false.  As parties grow they become more diverse. Those people that join the party become part of the grassroots. The founders of the party don't get to keep the term grassroots to themselves and they aren't special. Second, let's talk about ideological purity. The BC Conservatives started out as a right wing party. They were far more rural and northern than they were southern and urban. When the BC Liberals rebranded into BC United, and then collapsed that voter base moved en masse to the BC Conservatives.    The problem for the BC Conservatives is that that voter base was more so...

Reviving the BC Liberal name for the next election would require either a change of provincial law or a reversal by the leadership of BC United, the collapsed party that still holds rights to the name ... ... “The word ‘liberal’ is widely used in the Canadian — and indeed global — political world,” wrote Joven Narwal. “The real risk of voter confusion arises from the contradictory messaging from BC United, who seek to hold the word ‘liberal’ hostage by running ‘some’ candidates in the upcoming election to preserve the brand while simultaneously promoting the Conservatives.” But under the Election Act, a party “must not” be registered if in the chief electoral officer’s opinion it is “likely to be confused” with another political party that is currently registered or has been registered at any time in the past 10 years ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC history shows that the right can't win when it's divided When British Columbia’s newest political party, CentreBC, launched on Thursday, NDP Premier David Eby wished it “the best of luck.” Eby’s well-wishes were no doubt genuine, as BC’s political history shows that any significant vote split on the right has resulted in an NDP government every time ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Former MLA Karin Kirkpatrick has launched a new political party, Centre BC, after abandoning attempts to get Kevin Falcon to step down as leader of BC United, formerly BC Liberals. Kirkpatrick said she was left politically homeless when Falcon withdrew BC United from last year's provincial election campaign — and so were many political centrists like her ... "We've seen so much divisive conversation in politics over the last year … a lot of people in British Columbia were looking for an alternative that was more balanced" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Karin Kirkpatrick was supposed to be retired from public life by this point. Instead, the former West Vancouver-Capilano MLA is founding CentreBC, a new provincial party that aims to – as the name suggests – find a path to victory through the political centre  ... CLICK HERE for the full story

A longtime veteran of British Columbia provincial politics is entering the federal election race as an independent. Mike de Jong announced Thursday that he would run in the new Abbotsford-South Langley riding. De Jong served eight terms as an MLA under the BC Liberal/BC United banner, holding multiple cabinet portfolios including finance, attorney general, public safety and health ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

Thirty-seven years ago, Halloween 1987, I became the leader of the BC Liberal Party.   British Columbia was badly polarized. Social Credit held one side and the NDP the other. It had been twelve years, 1975, since Liberal MLAs Garde Gardom, Pat McGeer, and Alan Williams had walked away from their party to join Social Credit, one year after the lone Progressive Conservative MLA Hugh Curtis had abandoned his party to sit with Bill Bennett, the son and heir apparent to long-serving BC Premier, WAC Bennett.   An unwritten agreement by the biggest Canadian political shareholders, the federal Liberals and Conservatives, decided that if British Columbia was to remain a lucrative franchise from a revenue perspective, they couldn’t risk splitting the electoral vote and electing the real enemy, the NDP, so no resources would be used to finance either a Liberal or Conservative party provincially.   “There are two sides to every street,” I was told by a very prominent Canadian busine...

As we begin this new fire season it’s important to look back to see what is occurring in our forests, and evaluate what can be done to limit the devastating impacts of uncontrolled wildfires. B.C. is a large area (double the size of California), and 64 per cent of our land base is forest. Unfortunately, this also represents the amount of fuel that can burn during a dry summer. Fire is nature’s way of renewal, yet large high intensity uncontrolled fires are destroying forest areas that will take many generations to reforest. It is also bringing about recurring environmental damage with additional water runoff, sedimentary deposits in streams, and a host of other challenges because of the intensity of the fires. Since the adoption of Forest Practices Boards and Codes (B.C. 1995) many different countries, governments and jurisdictions have tried to maintain a balance between conservation and production of a renewable commodity. I say ‘renewable commodity’ because a forest is a living, bre...

The fact that child killer Allan Schoenborn has successfully changed his name under BC laws has prompted finger-pointing among politicians. BC Premier David Eby told media Thursday that in 2002 when opposition leader Kevin Falcon was the Minister of Deregulation he removed regulations under the Name Act that ensured name changes would be published publicly in the BC Gazette ... CLICK HERE for the full story

 ... In our democracy, the majority has the right to make decisions, and the minority has the right to oppose those decisions and offer other choices. To take it a step further: The official Opposition has an obligation, a responsibility, to provide cohesive policy alternatives in the next election. This is not happening in British Columbia today. Blame personalities and egos. With a lengthy list of major issues facing the province, this year’s election should be hotly contested. It should allow voters to pass judgment on the platform of Premier David Eby, who has not won an election, before giving him free rein for another four years. His platform has been clear. Does it face up to the huge challenges we face? There are bold initiatives, but there are also problems worthy of debate ... CLICK HERE for the full editorial

The surging BC Conservatives could doom BC United and raise challenges for the NDP Six months from now Kevin Falcon is going to be staggering toward a catastrophic defeat for the remnants of the BC Liberals ... CLICK HERE for the full story

NOTE ... not the original image from Keith Baldrey's op/ed 1991 BC general election -- Wikipedia   A veteran NDP cabinet minister stopped me in the legislature hallway last week and revealed what he thinks is the biggest vulnerability facing his government in the fall provincial election. It’s not housing, health care, affordability or any of the other hot button issues identified by pollsters. "I think we are way too complacent,” he told me. “Too many people on our side think winning elections are easy.” He referenced the 1991 election campaign as something that could repeat itself. What was supposed to be an easy NDP victory then almost turned into an upset win for the fledgling BC Liberal Party. Indeed, the parallels between that campaign and the coming fall contest are striking ... CLICK HERE for the full story

On April 12 of last year, the BC Liberal Party officially changed its name to BC United. It launched what may go down as one of the worst political rebranding exercises in Canadian history . . . . . . . . Kevin Falcon took over the leadership in May, 2022, he made it a mission to make the name change happen. And he did. In April of last year, BC United was born - and it’s pretty much been a disaster ever since . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

APRIL 3rd, 2024 - Victoria:  The Conservative Party of British Columbia is thrilled to announce former NDP MLA Gwen O'Mahony as their candidate for Nanaimo-Lantzville. "This is not the NDP I thought I served with as an MLA. This is not even John Horgan’s NDP," said O'Mahony. "Years ago, I joined the NDP and was elected to represent the traditional ideas of the left. These ideas included representing workers, fighting for what’s right and helping those most vulnerable," said O'Mahony.  "However, after a decade of extremism from the left, I can confidently say that as a former MLA and as a woman, I can no longer remain a member of the NDP." "Whether you are a traditional conservative voter or a traditional NDP voter, I want to invite you on this journey with me. Join the Conservative Party of British Columbia and help us bring back common sense," concluded O'Mahony. "We are thrilled to have Former MLA Gwen O'M...

Something interesting and unexpected is happening in the political climate in British Columbia. An election is pending in October of this year, and a few short months ago it was expected to be a rather boring slam-dunk win for the NDP under leader David Eby. Eby became BC NDP leader following John Horgan stepping down in late 2022. Eby has not yet faced an election as leader . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

Are B.C. Premier David Eby and the B.C. New Democrats heading towards a landslide victory next fall? Or is the re-alignment on the right of the B.C. political spectrum progressing faster than anticipated? As we stand six months from the provincial campaign, two B.C. polls were released earlier this month showing diverging data. While the NDP was leading in both polls, the numbers on the opposition parties could hardly have been more divergent . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

KAMLOOPS WAS ONCE SEEN AS A BELLWETHER riding provincially, meaning the candidates who won here, their party would unfailingly form government. That has not held true for a long time, as Kamloops has stuck like glue to the BC Liberals for decades now. That will all change this fall, as Kamloops will not have any BC Liberals for which to vote . . . . CLICK HERE for the full commentary

  Please Note ... the following is a message which was received yesterday (Friday Feb 16 th ) from Conservative Party of BC leader John Rustad   Today is a special day for me.   Exactly one year ago, I crossed the floor and became a Conservative MLA.  This came after deep contemplation over the state of our province and what I said back then is still true today.    Over the years, I’ve learned that nothing is worth compromising your principles over. As British Columbians, our beliefs, our convictions, our personal freedoms – all matter more than anything.     In fact, that’s why the BC United Liberals kicked me out of their caucus – because I said no.     No to their brand of corrupt and unprincipled politics!   I also said I would be a lone voice in the Legislature for British Columbians who want to see the carbon tax scraped, healthcare workers hired back and common sense returned to government....

As several high-profile BC United MLAs announce they won’t be running in October’s provincial election, party leader Kevin Falcon is touting star candidates who he hopes can inject some fresh blood into the party. However, longtime party members and political analysts worry about continued brand confusion 10 months after the party ditched the BC Liberal label and the risk of losing veteran incumbents with solid name recognition . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

... Falcon said that the public is looking for a change in light of the province’s debt as well as the state of health care and education among other issues, with B.C. having become the most unaffordable province in Canada ... ... “BC United is the coalition party…to defeat the NDP,” he said. “That hasn’t changed. We welcome all Conservatives and others who want to support us to join with us and I don’t join the parlour games and the discussions about that. I’m focused on winning the next election” ... CLICK HERE for the full story