CAMPAIGN COMES TO A CLOSE
Where will leaders be on the big day?
After spending the last 28 days on buses and planes, the three party leaders will be out on the hustings again today to encourage supporters to cast their ballots and to make one last effort to woo undecided voters in this too-close-to-call election.
B.C. Liberal Leader Christy Clark is expected to be in her West Kelowna riding this morning to vote, then will head to Metro Vancouver, where the party is in a tight battle with the NDP for a handful of urban seats that could play a deciding role on which party forms government.
The Liberal election-night party is in a downtown hotel, just across the street from where the NDP will be gathering — an odd proximity for the polarized supporters of the two parties.
B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan, running for re-election in Juan de Fuca, planned to help party organizers with the get-out-vote effort this morning, and then knock on doors in a couple of key swing ridings elsewhere in the province.
B.C. Green Leader Andrew Weaver will vote at 8:15 a.m. at Gordon Head Middle School in his Oak Bay riding. He will be accompanied by his family, including his 19-year-old son, who will vote for the first time. In the afternoon, Weaver is scheduled to campaign in other Victoria-area ridings, such as Swan Lake and Beacon Hill, and will remain in the provincial capital for the Greens’ election party.
That Weaver is spending his last day on the island is not surprising, given that pundits estimate the seats he has the greatest chances of winning are his own, plus Saanich North and Cowichan Valley.
If advanced polls are any indication, polling booths should be busy today while open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nearly 615,000 British Columbians cast ballots over six days of advanced voting this year, compared with just 380,000 over four days in 2013.
Which party might be winning the race at this point is anyone’s guess. Two weeks ago, a Mainstreet-Postmedia poll had the NDP leading the Liberals by 10 points across the province, and by an even wider margin in seat-rich Metro Vancouver.
On the weekend, a new Mainstreet poll showed the Liberals and NDP in a statistical tie for support, which led president Quito Maggi to predict that today’s results may change little in B.C.’s political landscape: the numbers, he said, suggest the parties may recapture roughly the same number of seats, about 48 to 49 for the Liberals, 33 to 35 for the NDP, and two to three for the B.C. Greens.
All the leaders Monday repeated the same message, although delivered with different partisan spins: It is crucial in this tight race that everyone votes.
Clark campaigned from dusk to dawn, starting Monday in Richmond, then flew to Sidney and Courtenay (where the Liberals hope to retain one of their two Island seats), and finished the marathon in Hope and Abbotsford.
While in Richmond, she urged British Columbians to vote Liberal to avoid “condemn(ing) our children to a worse life,” and warned against supporting the NDP or Greens: “Now is not a time we can afford to be weak,” she added.
Horgan spent most of Monday making a final big push in Surrey, an important city to court because it is home to nine of B.C.’s 87 ridings. He held a rally on the side of Highway 1 near the Port Mann Bridge during the drive-home rush hour, to promote his promise to remove tolls.
Optics were bad for the NDP camp earlier in the day, when the party’s bus got temporarily stuck on a bump while leaving a Surrey parking lot. Horgan made the most of it, later tweeting: “Less worried about my bus and more concerned about British Columbians getting stuck with four more years of Christy Clark.”
Weaver started Monday in Vancouver and ended it in Saanich North with candidate Adam Olsen, who finished third in 2013 — but only 400 votes behind the winner in a riding that resulted in a photofinish three-way race. The Greens are banking on Olsen to cross the line first this year.
To vote today, residents must prove their identity and home address, by showing a driver’s licence, B.C. Identification Card, B.C. Services Card (with photo), or a Certificate of Indian Status. Alternatively, you can show two documents (for example, utility bills), both with your name and at least one with your current home address, according to the Voters’ Guide.
All eligible voters should have received in the mail a Where to Vote card from Elections B.C.
You can also find voting places near you on the Elections B.C. website.
Look for election results after 8 p.m. on vancouversun.com, theprovince.com, or at elections. bc.ca.