Category: BC Politics

A Conservative MP from B.C. opens up on Northern Gateway: A highly conditional approval

Dan Albas handout
Newly elected in the 2011 general election as the MP for Okanagan-Coquihalla, Dan Albas is welcomed to the House of Commons by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. This photo was taken by a member of the prime minister’s staff.

Dan Albas is the Conservative MP for the riding of Okanagan-Coquihalla, a riding in the south, central part of the province that is a long, long way  from where Enbridge Inc. proposes to build the Northern Gateway Pipeline that will carry as much as 500,000 barrels of Alberta bitumen across the Rockies to the northern B.C. port of Kitimat. Kitimat, incidentally, is in the riding of New Democrat Nathan Cullen, while the pipeline runs through Cullen’s riding and then the ridings of BC Conservative Bob Zimmer (Prince George-Peace River) and Alberta Conservative MPs Rob Merrifield (Yellowhead) and Brian Storseth (Westlock-St. Paul)

Though Albas and his constituents live a long way from the Northern Gateway’s route or port — as do most who live in B.C. — this is a big issue for them. The federal NDP believe that, so far as votes in B.C. go in the 2015 general election, campaigning against the pipeline is electoral gold. Continue reading A Conservative MP from B.C. opens up on Northern Gateway: A highly conditional approval

The B.C. NDP hold their version of "Ladies Night". Cue the outrage.

KickUP

The poster above, which I first saw when former Parliament Hill Liberal staffer Ben Parsons brought it to my attention on Twitter, is from the BC NDP.

It advertises a political fundraiser to be held this March. In fact, the B.C. NDP have been holding this annual event since 2003. Here’s the poster from the 2013 version. Over at the event’s 2013 Facebook page, it quite clearly says that this event was held to celebrate “International Women’s Day.” Continue reading The B.C. NDP hold their version of "Ladies Night". Cue the outrage.

A review of the polls in BC: Dix leads in all but the gap varies

A running tally of the polls published in the B.C. election campaign (the writ dropped on April 16), arranged here, with the most recent on top. In every poll, Adrian Dix and the NDP lead with Christy Clark and the Liberals in second. The biggest gap of 22 points between the two was found by Justason in a poll published April 29. The smallest gap was 2 points in poll published May 9 by Forum.

Continue reading A review of the polls in BC: Dix leads in all but the gap varies

The report card on Christy Clark's "BC Jobs Plan": A "C-"

Christy Clark announces Jobs Plan
VANCOUVER – BC Premier Christy Clark releases her provincial jobs plan during a Vancouver Board of Trade meeting on Sept. 22, 2011. (CARMINE MARINELLI/QMI AGENCY)

“We have set out these bold goals and we are reaching our targets. I’m going to run in the next election on the strong economy. I’m going to run on (being) number one in job creation.”
– Christy Clark to her party’s convention in Whistley, BC, October, 2012

This morning, Statistics Canada released the final report card before Tuesday’s general election in B.C. on Clark’s 17-months-old Jobs Plan. BC is unequivocally not “number one” in job creation. In fact, it is not number one in any employment measurement used by Statistics Canada.  And yet, it could be a lot worse, I suppose. So I’m giving the BC Jobs Plan a “C-” at this point.  Continue reading The report card on Christy Clark's "BC Jobs Plan": A "C-"

BC Liberal candidates star in hard-hitting anti-Dix attack ad

This is the new “attack ad” from the BC Liberals aimed at Adrian Dix, the leader of the NDP. Several polling organizations have found the the BC Liberals well back of the BC NDP last week (the gap was anywhere from 4 points to 10 points). There is less than a week to go until election day on May 14.

This is pretty harsh attack ad. Here’s the setup from the BC Libs: Continue reading BC Liberal candidates star in hard-hitting anti-Dix attack ad

Meet the punk rocker high-tech success story who wants to beat Christy Clark in her riding

Meet the bleached-blonde, punk-rock-playing-bassist who made a mint in the software business, is a diehard “green” and is running for the BC Conservative Party in the Premier Christy Clark’s riding. His name is Duane “Chaos” Nickull and he’s the BC Conservative candidate in Vancouver-Point Grey, the same riding as Premier Christy Clark.

The power of the incumbent? Or Canadian voters too scared of change?

Cummins, Clark, Dix, and Sterk
VANCOUVER – BC NDP leader Adrian Dix (2nd R), BC Green Party leader Jane Sterk (R), BC Conservative leader John Cummins (L) and BC Liberal leader Christy Clark talk with each other before their provincial election TV debate on April 29, 2013. Voters go to the polls May 14. (REUTERS/Andy Clark)

Eight federal and provincial elections since 2011. In all but one, the incumbent party won. (And the one that lost, Jean Charest and Quebec Liberals, missed by a hair, losing the popular vote by less than one percentage point).  Didn’t matter if it was a party of the left or right. Now, in BC, an incumbent that was trailing badly, is quickly narrowing a gap on a challenger: So I ask — What is about Canadian voters they appear so reluctant to change their governments?

UPDATE May 15, 2013: Christy Clark’s Liberals won in B.C. So make that eight for nine incumbents who won with a message of “it’s the economy.” Column, with link below, written two weeks before vote, still stands!

Read the column here.