British Columbia Politics, Explained
Guest: Stewart Prest, University of BC
On this edition of Journal, I would like to invite you to play a game. It’s called British Columbia Politics.
First of all, we had two dominant political parties: the NDP, under David Eby; and the other party, the Conservatives, were under John Rustad’s leadership – until they weren’t. Thinking he wasn’t right-wing enough, Rustad was forced out, resulting in a leadership race which Kerry-Lynne Findlay barely won last spring.
So, once again: two leaders: Eby and, this time, Findlay – vying for the hearts and minds of British Columbians. Except – and it turns out to be a BIG “except” – it turns out that Findlay focused her negative energies and arrows on her own party, turfing out long-time staffers, alienating sitting MLAs, and ignoring rather than welcoming anyone who didn’t pass a purity test.
Lo and behold, Conservative caucus members started quitting the Kerry-Lynne party. 13 left during her short tenure and 9 of these “independent” MLAs formed a new party with Peter Milobar as leader. But then, Findlay resigned, and the newly named “interim” Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson welcomed these independents back into the fold.
Only in BC.
So that leaves David Eby with a big smile on his face, watching the utter disarray of the Conservatives. What better time to call an election? It’s legal, but is it ethical?
Perhaps he hopes people won’t remember his dismal record in government in the midst of all this chaos – or maybe they will.
To help us understand this highly volatile situation is Stewart Prest, political scientist at UBC and frequent commentator on BC politics.
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