Nicholas Simons, the NDP incumbent in Powell River-Sunshine Coast, says he thinks party leader John Horgan has “made a pretty good case” for an early election call.
“[The premier] spoke to the need for stability as we engage as a province in the recovery plan,” he said. “I think he pointed quite clearly to the likelihood of the B.C. Liberals to continue calling us an illegitimate government, continuing to question our approach, as we support British Columbians, and it’ll be a year of campaigning and negativity and what we want to see is the public having a mandate to choose a government that will carry them through this challenging period ahead.”
Simons will be trying for a fifth term in Powell River-Sunshine Coast, after being acclaimed as the party’s candidate on Sept. 8.
He said he’s confident he’ll be able to defend the need for an election now when he gets questioned by voters.
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot and there are many sides to this particular issue, but ultimately we’re asking for a mandate from the people of British Columbia in a situation where things are obviously very different,” said Simons.
Simons also said he expects campaigning will look very different.
“All candidates are likely going to be using new tools, different tools, as they try to make sure that their record and their commitments are clearly expressed,” he said. “We’ll be using a lot of media, social media and there might be unique events that take place online or in the open.”
In 2017 Simons won with 13,646 votes, just shy of 51 per cent of the vote.
The B.C. Liberals, with candidate Mathew Wilson, finished second at 6,602 votes, followed by Green candidate Kim Darwin at 6,505 and the Cascadia Party’s Rueben Richards with 160 votes.
The B.C. Liberals have not yet responded to Coast Reporter’s inquiry about when they hope to have a local candidate in place, but Wilson has confirmed to Coast Reporter that although he had considered running again, he has chosen not to seek the Liberal nomination.
“I have a hard time seeing this as anything but an attempt to cash in on the public’s support for the handling of COVID-19, which is sadly opportunistic in my view,” Wilson said of the early election call.
Darwin, who is just coming off an unsuccessful bid for the party leadership, told Coast Reporter Tuesday that “with great sadness and regret” she’s decided not to stand as a candidate in the election.
One of the reasons Darwin gave is that the leadership bid exhausted the funds she had been setting aside for a 2021 election.
“I have not made this decision lightly and am deeply disappointed the BC NDP have chosen to circumvent British Columbia’s democracy by calling an election while most British Columbians are focused on their physical, mental and financial health,” she said in an email. “It is a BC NDP backroom boys power grab decision without a doubt.”
The results of Coast Reporter’s informal, online opinion poll suggest potential voters on the Lower Sunshine Coast are not enthusiastic about an early election.
As of Monday morning, before the premier’s announcement, 303 people, 86 per cent of respondents, answered “no” to our Question of the Week, “Should Premier John Horgan call an early provincial election for this fall.”
Forty-nine, or 14 per cent, answered “yes.”
