BC Election
October 18, 2024 5:43 PM Subscribe
British Columbia goes to the polls [Global]. A rather complicated situation in BC: the old opposition party, BC United, quit (or at least its leader did)[CBC], and handed things over to the Conservatives. A bunch of BC United's candidates are running as independents [CBC]-- this includes five incumbents. So the Right-wing vote is split. Meanwhile, the Green Party seems to be doing okay (14% in the polls, leader doing well in her riding [Pollara]). The governing party right now is the New Democratic Party, which is social democratic.
The US Presidential election is affecting people's perception of the Conservatives. The leader, John Rustad, has been an anti-vaxxer[CTV], climate-change denier[Tyee], and anti-Gay/Trans[Maple Ridge News]. People are put off by Trump-style lunacy and the Conservatives have a lot of loons[CBC].
The US Presidential election is affecting people's perception of the Conservatives. The leader, John Rustad, has been an anti-vaxxer[CTV], climate-change denier[Tyee], and anti-Gay/Trans[Maple Ridge News]. People are put off by Trump-style lunacy and the Conservatives have a lot of loons[CBC].
I was wondering if a post would go up for this. We're expecting dreadful weather in the lower mainland over the next day which I hope doesn't depress turnout too much. On the other hand, we've smashed the record for advanced voting with a million votes already cast (28% of registered electors, 20% of the population!)
I may come back with more links. But most of all please hope for us! Many good things have happened or are underway under this government, and many bad things will happen if the BC Conservatives are elected. They're being penalized by confusion about the difference between federal and provincial politics and parties, not to mention their willingness to act against some very powerful interests and piss off certain powerful people.
posted by lookoutbelow at 7:01 PM on October 18 [1 favorite]
I may come back with more links. But most of all please hope for us! Many good things have happened or are underway under this government, and many bad things will happen if the BC Conservatives are elected. They're being penalized by confusion about the difference between federal and provincial politics and parties, not to mention their willingness to act against some very powerful interests and piss off certain powerful people.
posted by lookoutbelow at 7:01 PM on October 18 [1 favorite]
Advance voted last week and have been showing off my I Voted sticker on my phone since! (and, up until Wednesday, telling everyone about how easy and great advance voting is).
It is rare that Canadian politics gives me anything to smile about lately, but David Eby got a chuckle out of me a few months ago when he coined the term Pierre Poilievre baloney factory
posted by btfreek at 7:13 PM on October 18
It is rare that Canadian politics gives me anything to smile about lately, but David Eby got a chuckle out of me a few months ago when he coined the term Pierre Poilievre baloney factory
posted by btfreek at 7:13 PM on October 18
I live not far from where Chip Wilson (founder of Lululemon, billionaire, owner of one of the most expensive homes in the province, and Vancouver's discount store version of Elon Musk) resides. Recently, he "delighted" neighbours and passer-bys with a giant sign on his giant house calling the NDP (current ruling provincial party, kinda center-left to the extent that it wants to tax the 1%, not the middle class) a bunch of communists, and urging all and sundry to vote conservative.
The sign was promptly defaced with derogatory comments and not-very-Canadian epithets. Local yummy-mummies and dog walkers snickered at the bad words. It was then removed.
He followed up with an editorial in a local paper with the usual boilerplate complaining that taxing the rich would dissuade courageous innovators from taking risks that lead to great businesses that create jobs for a grateful populace, and that supporters of the NDP are lazy good-for-nothings who want handouts in exchange for doing no productive work. You know, the usual brilliantly convincing Republican talking points.
In return, David Eby, our current provincial Premier and NDP leader spoke to the press, with a satirical billboard that happened to be in the shot.
A very "Vancouver" rivalry.
Meanwhile, the conservatives (who inherited a weird coalition that spans the center right to the batshit far-right) are busy trying to tamp down on the steady diet of embarrassing leaks, as their more unsavoury members keep having to disavow earlier tweets and revelations. John Rustad is adopting a strategy of silence on his views, hoping that just saying "axe the tax" and "tough on crime" will do the trick. (NB. For non-Canadians, "the tax" is the Carbon tax (an initiative to raise the cost of fossil fuels to reduce emissions and the bete-noire of Conservatives (who think Canada should keep maximizing its oil and gas industries). Also, alliterative three-word slogans is the strategy used by Federal Conservatives to demagogue their way to victory: axe the tax, build the homes, stop the crimes, empty promises with no plan to back them up other than leveraging discontent). If Poillievre (Federal) styles himself after Trump, Rustad makes me think of a rumpled version of RFK Jr: anti-vax, climate skeptic, you know, what some op-eds call an "out of the box thinker". Grrr.
Still, there's a rich irony is seeing these giant, blue, vote Conservative banners on the side of mega-mansions along our Golden Mile.
Let's hope our fellow British Columbians come to their senses. "We don't need this fascist groove thang", as Heaven 17 used to sing.....
posted by Bigbootay. Tay! Tay! Blam! Aargh... at 7:57 PM on October 18
The sign was promptly defaced with derogatory comments and not-very-Canadian epithets. Local yummy-mummies and dog walkers snickered at the bad words. It was then removed.
He followed up with an editorial in a local paper with the usual boilerplate complaining that taxing the rich would dissuade courageous innovators from taking risks that lead to great businesses that create jobs for a grateful populace, and that supporters of the NDP are lazy good-for-nothings who want handouts in exchange for doing no productive work. You know, the usual brilliantly convincing Republican talking points.
In return, David Eby, our current provincial Premier and NDP leader spoke to the press, with a satirical billboard that happened to be in the shot.
A very "Vancouver" rivalry.
Meanwhile, the conservatives (who inherited a weird coalition that spans the center right to the batshit far-right) are busy trying to tamp down on the steady diet of embarrassing leaks, as their more unsavoury members keep having to disavow earlier tweets and revelations. John Rustad is adopting a strategy of silence on his views, hoping that just saying "axe the tax" and "tough on crime" will do the trick. (NB. For non-Canadians, "the tax" is the Carbon tax (an initiative to raise the cost of fossil fuels to reduce emissions and the bete-noire of Conservatives (who think Canada should keep maximizing its oil and gas industries). Also, alliterative three-word slogans is the strategy used by Federal Conservatives to demagogue their way to victory: axe the tax, build the homes, stop the crimes, empty promises with no plan to back them up other than leveraging discontent). If Poillievre (Federal) styles himself after Trump, Rustad makes me think of a rumpled version of RFK Jr: anti-vax, climate skeptic, you know, what some op-eds call an "out of the box thinker". Grrr.
Still, there's a rich irony is seeing these giant, blue, vote Conservative banners on the side of mega-mansions along our Golden Mile.
Let's hope our fellow British Columbians come to their senses. "We don't need this fascist groove thang", as Heaven 17 used to sing.....
posted by Bigbootay. Tay! Tay! Blam! Aargh... at 7:57 PM on October 18
My riding has a women who sells MLMs and other sketchy stuff as the Conservative candidate, a Dr from Kelowna General as the Independent, and a long time and much respected city counsellor running for the NDP. I'm hoping that personal respect will flip a very, very conservative riding to the NDP.
posted by Canageek at 8:23 PM on October 18
posted by Canageek at 8:23 PM on October 18
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posted by They sucked his brains out! at 6:16 PM on October 18