Green party rushes to fill a full slate of candidates
The race to fill out a full slate of candidates will be an important first test for B.C. Green party ambitions to break free of third-party status in provincial politics in the view of one pollster.
As of Monday, the B.C. Greens had candidates nominated and registered with Elections B.C. in 76 of 87 constituencies, with “a number of others” expected to receive approval by the 1 p.m. Tuesday deadline, according to party press secretary Jillian Oliver.
Just how far the Green party falls short of filling the full slate could carry consequences, said David Valentin, a pollster with the firm Mainstreet Research, which is providing polling for Postmedia during the election.
“If it’s just one, OK, that’s fine,” Valentin said. “You can give them a pass.”
However, if it is much more, and voters aren’t able to cast ballots for Green candidates in each riding across the province, Valentin argued that the party risks losing credibility as a serious political entity.
“It’s a little bit like failing the first quiz of the semester,” that the bigger parties have already passed, Valentin said.
Oliver disputed that notion, countering that smaller parties have “an enormous and disproportionate responsibility,” compared with the B.C. Liberals and B.C. NDP, which already have dozens of incumbent candidates. Those incumbents come with “built-in teams of trained staff” who work with MLAs in the legislature then volunteer for campaigns, Oliver wrote in an email.
Being able to nominate a full slate is symbolic, but meaningful when a party is trying to position itself as a potential government in waiting, political scientist Hamish Telford said.
“It’s going to be a challenge for the Greens if they’re not able to nominate a full slate,” said Telford, an associate professor at the University of the Fraser Valley.
“If they miss more than a handful or two handfuls, then I think the signal is this party is not ready to govern.”
As of Monday, both the B.C. Liberals and B.C. NDP had each registered full slates with Elections B.C.
And the B.C. Greens hadn’t registered, or named on their website, candidates for Nechako Lakes, Prince George Mackenzie, Skeena, Stikine, Peace River South and Peace River North, though Green Leader Andrew Weaver said the party is considering endorsing an independent candidate in that last constituency.
Not filling out full slates costs parties in other ways, Valentin said. For example, pollsters such as Mainstreet will discount poll results for a party if it doesn’t have candidates across the province for voters to support.
And the B.C. Conservative party risks being dropped from polls altogether if it doesn’t increase its candidate count from the four it had registered as of Monday, Valentin said. Conservative campaign manager Bob Bray said the party is hoping to nominate at least 10.
Valentin guessed that as of Monday, only the Skeena riding would be swayed toward the NDP with the absence of a Green candidate. Others, such as the Peace River constituencies, are solidly Liberal.