ELECTION MAY 9
Pledges on renting, tech, disability rates
• NDP Leader John Horgan promises a $400 annual grant for renters if the NDP wins the B.C. election.
• Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver pledges to increase disability, income assistance and shelter allowance rates by 10 per cent, effective Oct. 1.
• B.C. Liberal Leader Christy Clark says the government would boost investment in the technology sector.
• A bear silhouette is featured on a sign for Oak Bay Gordon Head NDP candidate Bryce Casavant, a former conservation officer who refused to kill two cubs.
Oak Bay-Gordon Head New Democrat candidate Bryce Casavant is capitalizing on his 15 minutes of fame with some “bear branding” on his campaign signs.
Unlike other New Democrat Party candidate signs, prominently displayed on Casavant’s is the silhouette of a bear.
Casavant, a former B.C. conservation officer, made an international splash in 2015 when, after killing a problem bear in Port Hardy, he refused an order to kill two orphaned black bear cubs.
The cubs were instead transferred to a wildlife recovery centre in Errington and Casavant was suspended for not obeying orders.
The use of an individual logo by an established party candidate is unusual and even more so in this case as the bear logo is displayed more prominently and appears to be bigger than the NDP logo, said UVic Lansdowne professor of social policy Michael Prince.
“Certainly in his case he’s a celebrity, being the conservation officer who refused to kill the two little black bears. I guess the question is how that translates into what it means for voters in Oak Bay-Gordon Head,” Prince said, adding that it’s unusual for a candidate to be allowed to stray from traditional party branding.
“It is one of his best cards to play, so to speak. Both national and international news that came about as the conservation officer who saved the bears,” Prince said.
Casavant said that while there’s no denying there’s a connection to his saving the bear cubs, he notes that the bear silhouetted on his signs is actually a grizzly, and reflects his university studies in progressive wildlife policies and the NDP’s opposition to grizzly trophy hunting.
“I would like the concept of progressive and responsible government [conservation] policies to carry forward to the ballot box,” Casavant said.
Dan Dagg, president of Hot House Marketing, said any link between the sign and Casavant’s policies “would be tenuous at best.”
“I think it’s less to do with politics and platforms and policies and more to do with character,” Dagg said. “He’s trying to say he’s a better guy than the rest because ‘I stood up with the bears.’ That would be the link you would draw. Whether or not he achieves it, I don’t know.”
Casavant said he had to get clearance from the party to use the grizzly logo and was told it’s the first time in a provincial election that any party has had wildlife on a sign.
It certainly runs contrary to established norms for political party advertising.
Dagg said “it makes good advertising sense” for political parties to project a common brand image.
“If anything, it [the logo] might actually telegraph a little bit of unwieldiness,” Dagg said.
“Professional organizations follow brand guidelines. They project a common voice. It means they can unite on common issues and I think going off and doing your own thing isn’t necessarily the wisest and doesn’t necessarily reflect good on the party.”
Oak Bay-Gordon Head Liberal candidate Alex Dutton said she and her team were surprised by Casavant’s signs: “When you run with a party, you normally have got that common branding. That’s part of being part of the team.”
Running against incumbent and Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver, Casavant may be trying to boost his conservation bona fides, Prince said. “I guess he may be hoping that it would eat into people who might be Green Party leaning in terms of issues around conservation and natural resources and on that side.”