Tuesday, May 12, 2009

BC Votes

Tonight, British Columbians head to the polls, looking to give Gordon Campbell a third straight majority. No doubt, the province will be in a testy mood following the Canucks' elimination last night, so the real question is who they'll take their anger out on.

Had I been living in BC four years ago, I probably would have voted for the NDP and against STV. This time around, I'd flip both those votes. I'm not familiar on all the local issues, but it does seem clear that a Liberal defeat would scare any government away from carbon pricing for at least a decade. As for STV, I'm not as fanatical about electoral reform as some bloggers out there, but the system preserves the accountability of FPTP, so I don't see any harm in giving it a try.

While looking at the polls in a province with a reputation for wild politics like BC might be fool-hardy, here's what the pollsters are saying:

Ipsos
Lib 47%
NDP 39%

Innovative
Lib 46%
NDP 37%

Angus Reid
Lib 44%
NDP 42%

Mustel
Lib 47%
NDP 38%

Average it all out, and you're looking at a very similar map to 2005.

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4 Comments:

  • You can't seem to get it right . . or you are just trying to confuse people by implying the BC government is "Liberal"

    Told you before . . it is the BC Liberal Party.

    Zero affiliation with the LPC. The BCLP is a coalition of "everyone/anyone who will work together to beat the socialist hordes/BC Fed/BC NDP.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:26 p.m.  

  • It's 9pm PST. All ridings have began reporting. BC Liberals leading 48/37 (56%-44%). That's a slight loss from 2005 (58%-42%). Popular vote almost unchanged. The North has disappointed the NDP. The gas tax hasn't given them a bounce.

    But, gas prices are way down this year.

    By Blogger JimTan, at 12:12 a.m.  

  • The interesting individual riding is Delta South where an independent has a shot at being the first independent in the legislature. The BC Liberal candidate (Province's attorney general) is leading by the same small margin (3%) as the BC Liberal candidate in 2005.

    How did the platforms compare? Gordo Campbell sold the status quo and won. But, the results are a poor reflection on his claims of strong leadership. The NDP took a gamble for a breakout and failed. But, they held their ground.

    The STV vote will be counted after the riding election. The results will be available tomorrow.

    By Blogger JimTan, at 12:51 a.m.  

  • At 11pm, the BC Liberals are leading in Delta South by only 15 votes, with 2200 advance votes to be counted.

    This is a tremendous achievement in a conservative riding by Vicki Huntington and her team.

    The folks are fed up with the Gordo administration that steamrolls over local concerns.

    By Blogger JimTan, at 2:51 a.m.  

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