13 Comments

They could have run a better campaign, but I think the biggest issue is how risk averse they were until Eby took over. He introduced two of the biggest changes in housing (zoning) and healthcare (new GP contract, new medical school) but those changes take time to materialize.

When people are frustrated they want change. Even if that "change" is just a catchy slogan

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Excellent summary, Justin. It’s why so many of us miss you on election day!

My first thought was that it’s slightly surreal that the Greens could have the balance of power while the largest party is led by a climate change denier.

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Just because you're not willing to drink all the environmentalist Kool-Aid that is being dished out doesn't make you a climate change denier. It means that making energy unaffordable for over half the population may not be the best path to head down; especially when the impact of Canada (let alone BC) being carbon neutral or carbon free will make approximately "zero" difference on our planet. In the mean time, all the middle income families will become lower income families and the wage gaps will begin increasing back to WWII type eras as it already has started here in Canada.

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Saw a comment on the reddit thread about people missing you this election (while also being envious of your trip). So that's something I think.

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I think the NDP missed a big opportunity to expand their tent and encourage some of those who vote Green to switch over to their team when they annointed Eby without a leadership contest and didn't let Anjali Appadurai contest the leadership. Also, though I also think housing prices are high, there are a lot of people who own houses and are afraid of being underwater on their mortgages. There are also a lot of small landlords (myself included) who are very nervous about the NDP's policies. Small businesses have also been harmed by NDP policies. Personally, I would never vote for far-right parties with climate change denying policies, but the NDP has not been showing itself to be a great alternative.

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Hope you voted Green then. It was the only viable option.

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About that Brent Chapman thing 😬

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Curious if you’ve tracked a similar popular vote trend line for the centre right parties (BC Liberals etc)

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So about that Brett Chapman thing 😬

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You’re far away and yet dead on.

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Great summary as usual, Justin. Happy travels! Are you going anywhere near the southern African continent? If so, the countries of Namibia, South Africa and Botswana are well worth a visit, especially as they are now in springtime and going into summer. I miss your graphs and hope you will get back to them once you are back home. Your excellent pandemic work and analysis kept me going during that stressful time.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Glad you are enjoying your travels and sharing them so generously with all of us, but know that you are missed in the BC political scene. No doubt this will still be going on when you return.

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Thanks for this!

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