Premier John Rustad. Just let the words sit there for a second. Cast your eyes over them. If you can, try saying them out loud.
What had been an unimaginable phrase just a few months ago is now, halfway through B.C.’s election campaign, a very real possibility.
The BC Conservative momentum in the election seems palpable, not just in the polls but in the day-to-day, back-and-forth of the campaign. The BC NDP machine, by contrast, appears to be faltering.
The dynamic played out in a microcosm Thursday as the NDP released its full election platform—a 64-page document full of already-announced policies (a $1,000 tax cut) and relatively small-scale new promises (free transit for seniors, but only in off-peak hours).
It was a pragmatic and prudent plan. But it lacked the populist touch so critical in modern elections.
Enter the BC Conservatives, who bookended the NDP platform launch with their own promises.
The first, just two hours before, was a blitz of transportation projects across the province, including expanding SkyTrain within voter-rich Surrey by extending the Expo Line from King George to Newton.
The second, just hours later, was a plan to restore plastic straws and cutlery for B.C. consumers, as well as eliminate environmental shopping bag fees at stores.
“The ban on plastic straws has been nothing but a nuisance for families and businesses across B.C.,” said Conservative leader John Rustad.
“It hasn’t achieved any significant environmental goals, but it has certainly made life worse for people. We will bring back plastic straws and cutlery, and eliminate the unnecessary bag fees that do little but add costs to everyday shopping.”
To accompany the announcement, the BC Conservatives launched a social media campaign called “Paper Straws Suck.” More people likely saw the graphic on their social media feeds in an organic way than anything from the NDP platform Thursday.
Populism, though, only goes so far to explain what is happening in the B.C. election.
The NDP platform launch was illustrative in the way the governing party is twisting itself into knots to propose new solutions to complex problems it claimed to know how to solve when leader David Eby became premier 20 months ago. All while constrained by the massive $9 billion deficit it has run up so far.
“B.C. is a place where everyone can build a good life,” Eby said Thursday. “I know I’ve got more work to do. That our government’s got a lot more work to do. But we won’t stop until the job is done.”
Eby started his premiership promising to show “visible” improvements in health care, street disorder, affordability and housing. Largely, he has failed to do so.
The resulting public frustration is reflected in the ongoing opinion polls, including one by firm Leger this week that showed the BC Conservatives at 46 per cent support amongst decided voters, a three-point lead over the NDP. It’s a remarkable upswing when you consider at this time last year Leger had the Conservatives at 25 per cent.
There are still two weeks left in the election, and they are among the most important in the campaign, as voters awaken to the prospect of actually casting a ballot, and parties rush to get supporters to the polls.
At this point, the BC Conservatives appear to have momentum on their side, created in part by a nimble, clever, campaign that is speaking to people, not at them. The NDP platform failed to change that dynamic. New Democrats will need to dig deep to figure out what’s next, before it’s too late.
Rob Shaw has spent more than 16 years covering B.C. politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for Glacier Media. He is the co-author of the national bestselling book A Matter of Confidence, host of the weekly podcast Political Capital, and a regular guest on CBC Radio.
