British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 election campaign enters its final day in what is viewed as a too-close-to-call contest where David EbyB次元官网网址檚 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 billionaireB次元官网网址檚 billboards.
The two main party leaders spent a lot of time telling voters why they shouldnB次元官网网址檛 vote for the other rather than presenting their own case for support.
The NDPB次元官网网址檚 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 RustadB次元官网网址檚 name was highlighted 11 times.
B次元官网网址淚 hope we never see another election like this,B次元官网网址� 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.
B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 call people who are gay groomers,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 tell Indigenous people that what they experienced in residential schools wasnB次元官网网址檛 real. We donB次元官网网址檛 propose that health-care professionals be put in front of an international tribunal similar to the trial of the Nazis called Nuremberg 2.0.B次元官网网址�
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.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know why, I guess as premier he thinkB次元官网网址檚 itB次元官网网址檚 OK to be lying to the people of B.C.,B次元官网网址� said Rustad. B次元官网网址淭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.B次元官网网址�
The campaignB次元官网网址檚 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 WilsonB次元官网网址檚 waterfront home, located in EbyB次元官网网址檚 Vancouver-Point Grey riding.
Both Eby and Rustad cited the message throughout the campaign.
Wilson called the NDP B次元官网网址渃ommunist,B次元官网网址� 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 canB次元官网网址檛 expect a break on their property taxes.
B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 leave John Rustad and Chip Wilson to vote for each other,B次元官网网址� Eby said in Vancouver Thursday.
RustadB次元官网网址檚 campaign promise to reverse the ban on plastic straws prompted Eby to begrudgingly agree B次元官网网址減aper straws suck,B次元官网网址� 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.
