B.C. Premier David Eby started campaigning early ahead of the provincial election scheduled for Oct. 19, saying his wife is expecting their third child near the end of June.
On June 20, seven days before the expected arrival date of his daughter, Mr. Eby held a campaign event in Vancouver, saying he was getting a head start before taking some time off to be with his family.
The BC NDP leader introduced four candidates for his party, including Randene Neill, a former broadcaster, and Baltej Dhillon, the first RCMP officer to wear a turban on duty.
“While I’m spending time with my family, welcoming our 3rd child, our amazing BC NDP candidates will be out connecting with people about what matters most,” he said in a June 20
post on X, formerly Twitter.
Parties Campaigning
The provincial NDP has been polling higher than the Conservatives in recent surveys, with the BC United Party, formerly the BC Liberal Party, falling behind both.
A May 30 Angus Reid
survey indicated the BC NDP had an 11-point lead compared to the Conservatives among decided and leaning voters, with 41 percent and 30 percent voter support respectively. The BC United sits at 16 percent. This is a loss of 18 percentage points from the popular vote of 33.77 percent that it received in the
2020 election, when it was the Liberal Party.
B.C.’s Conservatives have also been announcing several new candidates over the past few weeks, including former Surrey mayor Linda Hepner. United Party MLAs Elenore Sturko and Lorne Doerkson
crossed the
floor to the Conservatives on June 3 and May 31 respectively, and former United candidate Chris Moore
announced his switch to the Tories on June 19.
Conservative and United leaders have said some have made attempts to unite the two parties, but the efforts haven’t succeeded.
The BC United Party is also out campaigning, with leader Kevin Falcon taking aim at the cost of living, saying his party will make life more affordable by balancing the budget, fixing child care, and boosting economic prosperity for the province.
BC’s Green Party is out door knocking and talking with voters as well. While the party platform includes health care and affordability issues, including
support for basic income, it is also focusing heavily on climate change policies.
The Canadian Press contributed to this article.
