Tuesday October 15, 2024 | VICTORIA, BC [Links updated at 8:05 pm]
BC ELECTION CAMPAIGN DAY 25 of 28
Political analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Your 28-day voter’s guide for BC Election 2024
Just three more days of campaigning lie ahead on October 16, 17 and 18 before the BC general election on Saturday October 19.
[Advance voting available tonight October 15 to 8 pm, and all day tomorrow October 16, from 8 am to 8 pm.]
Town hall October 15:
Tonight the BC Greens are holding a livestreamed town hall hosted by West Vancouver-Sea to Sky candidate Jeremy Valeriote along with BC Green Campaign Co-Chair Adam Olsen. Their town hall runs from 6:30 to 7:30 pm.
The town hall with Sonia Furstenau and several other BC Greens is from 7:45 to 8:45 pm online – link to October 15 town hall livestream with Valeriote and Olsen.
Future hangs in the balance:
“BC’s future hangs in the balance. Neither of the other parties has a coherent vision or fully costed plan for BC, and neither should be given all the power in the legislature,” said BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau today. As well as being party leader Furstenau is running in Victoria-Beacon Hill.
She’s been repeating that message for months now, that the BC Greens provide policy leadership in the BC Legislative Assembly, as a form of counterpoint to a majority or minority government. Earlier this year, Island Social Trends defined the BC Greens as the conscience of the BC legislature.
At this point, it looks like either the BC NDP or the BC Conservatives could form a minority government. With 93 seats in the BC Legislative Assembly it will require at least 47 seats for any party to form a majority (though 48 to 50 seats would be a more comfortable margin to maintain a majority).
Reaching beyond the island:
A win for the BC Greens on the BC mainland would be a symbolic accomplishment for the party that had only two MLAs for the last seven years in the BC Legislative Assembly (both from south Vancouver Island — Furstenau in Cowichan Valley at that time, and Adam Olsen who is not running again in Saanich North and the Islands).
Most of the other BC Greens who are expected to win are running in Vancouver Island ridings.
Furtenau is holding a telephone town hall this evening “with voters in several ridings where BC Greens are either in the lead or close to the lead”.
Vancouver Island ridings:
BC Greens in west shore ridings of Vancouver Island include:
- Erin Cassels (Langford-Highlands), up against Ravi Parmar (BC NDP) and Mike Harris (BC Conservative).
- Camille Currie (Esquimalt-Colwood), up against Darlene Rotchford (BC NDP) and John Wilson (BC Conservative).
- David Evans (Juan de Fuca-Malahat), up against Dana Lajeunesse (BC NDP) and Marina Sapozhnikov (BC Conservative).
In other Vancouver Island ridings, these BC Greens have been highlighted by party leader Furstenau: Rob Botterell (Saanich North and the Islands), Arzeena Hamir (Courtenay-Comox), Cammy Lockwood (Cowichan Valley), and Ned Taylor (Saanich South).
Celebrity endorsement:
The BC Greens are hoping a celebrity endorsement from David Suzuki will work in their favour. Suzuki endorsed Sonia Furstenau and the BC Greens in a statement on October 15.
Suzuki will headline a rally with Furstenau, Olsen and local candidates on Thursday October 17 at the Edelweiss Club in Victoria.
===== RELATED:
- BC Election 2024: advance voting on now for six days (October 10, 2024)
- Six days of advance voting in BC Election 2024 (October 3, 2024)
- Rob Botterell set to fill Olsen’s shoes in Saanich North & the Islands (August 11, 2024)
- BC Green powerhouse Adam Olsen shifts to building the party (June 25, 2024)
- Furstenau takes BC Green fight to downtown Victoria (February 1, 2024)
- NEWS SECTIONS: POLITICS | VANCOUVER ISLAND | BC ELECTION 2024
- 28-DAY BC ELECTION CAMPAIGN ITINERARY & CALENDAR