British Columbia鈥檚 election campaign enters its final day in what is viewed as a too-close-to-call contest where David Eby鈥檚 New Democrats and the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad debated big issues of housing, health care, affordability and the overdose crisis, but also tangled over plastic straws and a billionaire鈥檚 billboards.
The two main party leaders spent a lot of time telling voters why they shouldn鈥檛 vote for the other rather than presenting their own case for support.
The NDP鈥檚 election platform document mentioned Rustad more than 50 times while Eby only received 29 mentions.
The B.C. Conservative platform, delivered in the final week of the campaign, included more than 50 Eby references, while Rustad鈥檚 name was highlighted 11 times.
鈥淚 hope we never see another election like this,鈥� Eby said this week in Nanaimo, describing the tone of the campaign where he has felt compelled to tell voters about controversial public statements made by Rustad and several of his candidates.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 call people who are gay groomers,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 tell Indigenous people that what they experienced in residential schools wasn鈥檛 real. We don鈥檛 propose that health-care professionals be put in front of an international tribunal similar to the trial of the Nazis called Nuremberg 2.0.鈥�
Rustad dropped several previously nominated B.C. Conservative candidates prior to the start of the election campaign last month for their extreme views posted on social media.
But during the campaign he continued to support Surrey-South candidate Brent Chapman who made an anti-Palestinian post on social media in 2015 and North Coast-Haida Gwaii candidate Chris Sankey, who posted on social media about concerns of what he called vaccine Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rustad, who campaigned in Nanaimo on the same day Eby visited the Vancouver Island city, said the NDP leader has consistently attempted to shift focus away from the real issues facing the province, which are the mismanagement of the economy, the crumbling health-care system and the ongoing drug overdose crisis that has resulted in thousands of deaths.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know why, I guess as premier he think鈥檚 it鈥檚 OK to be lying to the people of B.C.,鈥� said Rustad. 鈥淭he premier of a province like B.C. should be able to be out, being straight up with people and telling them the truth as opposed to lies.鈥�
The campaign鈥檚 only televised debate saw Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau, who has said the Greens will not receive enough votes to win the election, tell voters that Eby and Rustad are more closely aligned than people may believe on supporting the fossil fuel industry and placing people with mental health and addiction issues into involuntary care rather than increasing voluntary care.
Vancouver billionaire Chip Wilson, co-founder of the Lululemon athletic clothing line, also became a fixture in the campaign.
Large billboards with changing messages were posted outside Wilson鈥檚 waterfront home, located in Eby鈥檚 Vancouver-Point Grey riding.
Both Eby and Rustad cited the message throughout the campaign.
Wilson called the NDP 鈥渃ommunist,鈥� prompting Eby to say he is on the side of ordinary people in B.C. struggling to make ends meet and not the owner of a home assessed at more than $81 million.
Rustad said he supports entrepreneurs like Wilson, but they can鈥檛 expect a break on their property taxes.
鈥淟et鈥檚 leave John Rustad and Chip Wilson to vote for each other,鈥� Eby said in Vancouver Thursday.
Rustad鈥檚 campaign promise to reverse the ban on plastic straws prompted Eby to begrudgingly agree 鈥減aper straws suck,鈥� but he suggested the B.C. Conservative leader was trying to stir up controversy by diverting attention from major issues facing the province, including affordable housing.
The vote comes as an atmospheric river, expected to dump as much as 100 millimetres of rain in parts of B.C., is forecast for voting day, with wind and heavy rainfall warnings covering the central and south coast.
