And they're off! 

By Michelle Ghoussoub

Today, the political mud-slinging began in earnest on the first very rainy day of fall.

And it wasn’t the pandemic, but B.C.’s other health emergency that was the subject of debate. The B.C. coroner announced Wednesday, that in August alone, 147 people died of overdoses — more overdose deaths in the first eight months of 2020 than in all of 2019. 

So, how did this turn political?
NDP Leader John Horgan said at a Surrey campaign stop that the snap election was in part called because of the B.C. Green Party's opposition to Bill 22.

The bill would have allowed youth to be involuntarily hospitalized for up to a week after an overdose but received widespread criticism that included B.C.’s representative for children and youth.

Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau fired back in a written statement, saying the NDP was “using Bill 22 to mislead B.C. about the need for an election, despite all the groups opposed to it.”

Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson, speaking  at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention (to a virtual crowd) also criticized Horgan’s snap election call. He said his party would be releasing a full platform, including "very provocative" environmental policies, in the coming days.  

For political watchers, Wednesday was largely marked by speculation about whether B.C. could face two elections at once, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau scheduled a rare national address hours after the Throne Speech. (You can read details of the throne speech and Trudeau’s national address here.)

We’re also beginning to get a sense of how the leaders plan on reaching voters, in part through this Twitter video which shows Horgan seemingly calling a voter named Sue out of the blue. (But wait — if Sue wasn’t expecting his call, why is there someone on her end shooting her reaction? Questions abound.) All joking aside, the piece of messaging gets at the awkwardness of campaigning during a pandemic and how leaders are trying to circumvent it.

Campaign events minus crowds

Can Canada Post pull this off?

On Tuesday, we wrote about mail-in voting, and how those ballots are expected to factor into this year’s election. People across Canada have reported delays in sending and receiving packages through Canada Post since the start of the pandemic.
Now, the percentage of voters casting their ballots by mail is expected to surge from one per cent of voters, to 35 per cent. Will Canada Post be able to handle the surge and meet the deadline?

Elections BC said it may extend the period between the close of voting and the final count of absentee ballots. But the potential extension is based solely on the volume of ballots — not on possible Canada Post delays. In response, Canada Post says it plans extensively for mail-intensive events like the census and elections.

When will I know who my candidate is?

By Justin McElroy

The Oct. 2 deadline for candidates registering with Elections BC means political parties will have to move quickly to get their teams in place. 

For smaller parties (the B.C. Conservatives, Christian Heritage Party, Libertarian Party and others) the tight deadline and COVID-19 restrictions could make it tougher to find candidates and get the 75 valid signatures necessary to get on the ballot.

That's not a problem for the NDP, Liberals and Greens — but they're each going about filling their roster of 87 candidates in different ways.

The Green Party has only confirmed two candidates (its current MLAs Sonia Furstenau and Adam Olsen) because its focus was on its leadership race until last Monday. The party may have some competitive nomination elections, but for the most part it's all hands on deck just ensuring it can find a solid candidate in each riding — or barring that, a warm body.

The Liberals have already chosen around 75 per of their candidates, but that's partly because as soon as the election was called, the party eschewed nomination elections, instead appointing people in ridings as they saw fit. 

That helps them get a team together quickly and avoids some of the messiness the NDP is currently having — but it also means they miss out on the membership and enthusiasm boost that comes with competitive candidate battles.

For its part, the NDP is in the middle of candidate elections in Boundary-Similkameen, Cowichan Valley, New Westminster, Oak Bay-Gordon Head, Vancouver-False Creek, Vancouver-Hastings and Victoria-Beacon Hill — a mix of safe ridings and swing seats, with the winners to be announced in the next 24 hours or so.

That's it for us today. For the latest headlines, check cbc.ca/bc.