PRINCE GEORGE – “I made the decision that I made as leader of United to suspend our campaign. I will be withdrawing our candidate nominations.”
That was then-Leader of the BC United Party, Kevin Falcon, on August 28. It was a bombshell that many BC United candidates had not anticipated.
“You have to remember, the BC United were way down in support. Arguably, a lot of BC United support had already shifted over to the BC Conservatives, and that’s why they were surging. You had people in the business community saying, ‘You know, work together, form a coalition between the two parties, the two center-right parties, a partnership.’ So arguably, a lot of the support had already shifted over,” says Chris Beach, Political Science instructor for CNC.
Just as the candidates were blindsided. So were the electoral faithful.
“And many of those are still undecided. I think in rural British Columbia, it’s a little different than urban,” says Mike Bernier, who has opted to run as an Independent candidate. “People know the candidates. So there’s been a lot more support for the individual or for the person in a lot of our rural ridings. They’ve got those relationships. They have built up that trust factor. And that’s why election after election, there’s that core group that always seems to show up.”
Bernier says the same cannot, however, be said for the larger urban centres where most people don’t know their MLA never did.
“It’s a name on the ballot and they’re voting for the party or the policies of the party. And now the problem is, is we have to remember the B.C. Liberals than B.C. United were the largest party in the province, British Columbia, when it came to supporters and members larger than the NDP. Those people feel a little disenfranchised now.”
