Election campaigns usually unfold along predictable lines and narratives. There is the frontrunner, the underdog and the top issues.
But the campaign that began a week ago is shaping up to be like no other that we have seen because there have been so many surprises in such a short period of time.
Most of the public doesn’t even want the election in the first place (an Angus Reid poll last week found that two-thirds of folks have that opinion), which is an oddity itself.
NDP leader David Eby spent the first week on the defensive, having to justify repeatedly why he called for the election. An unusual campaign topic, to say the least.
The leader of one of the major political parties quit on the eve of the election call. Another first.
And who had Lorne Doerkson on their bingo card when it came to predicting who would replace Kerry-Lynne Findlay as leader of the B.C. Conservatives? Certainly not me.
Meanwhile, two other fledgling political parties – the far-right OneBC and CentreBC – insist they will be fielding multiple candidates, which could complicate things considerably at riding levels, as both will eat into the vote that usually goes to the B.C. Conservative or NDP.
It all adds up to a bit of a jumbled mess for the campaign’s first week.
Doerkson was all but invisible (two events in six days) while Eby had an event a day, which is fewer than a normal campaign. There were no campaign rallies by anyone (reflective, perhaps, of the lack of enthusiasm for the election call).
Back to Doerkson.
He is emerging as potentially the wildcard of the campaign. His down-to-earth, unflashy demeanour plays well on the campaign trail, and he contrasts well with his unpopular predecessor.
He caught gold with the emergence of that Global News footage of him fighting a wildfire threatening his community a few years back.
His first major policy announcement was a tax freeze. Not a tax cut – which would have made the budget deficit balloon even bigger – but instead a pledge not to increase taxes.
It’s a much more defensible position than a tax cut, but when combined with a promise to balance the budget in just a few years, it raises the possibility of cuts in the two most expensive parts of the public sector – health care and education, and the NDP was quick to jump on that point.
Doerkson was also quick to firmly punt two potentially problematic social conservative issues that have surfaced within his caucus over the past two years. He told reporters he believes in a woman’s reproductive rights and is in favour of same sex marriages.
For those wanting the party to move beyond fighting culture wars, Doerkson’s position on those issues was no doubt welcome (although he also wants to repeal SOGI in schools).
It is far too early to predict a winner, but I’d have to say the NDP stumbled the most during the first week, while the B.C. Conservatives drew an inside straight with choosing Doerkson as its leader.
Keith Baldrey is legislature bureau chief for Global BC.
Keith.Baldrey@globalnews.ca
