“I’ve never been more ready in my life to win”: Premier
Posted April 9, 2013 6:08 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It seems Christy Clark is a pretty good fundraiser for someone who was just named the least popular premier in Canada in an Angus Reid poll.
More than 1,800 people shelled out hundreds of dollars a plate to hear Clark speak at the BC Liberal annual fundraiser at Canada Place last night.
In her speech, Clark said with confidence, “I’ve never been more ready in my life to win this fight”, a fight she says will be an election win.
She told the crowd there will be “change” with her strong team of candidates, who will work towards building a strong economy that will include major opportunities like the Kitimat refinery “that could help eliminate debt.”
The most recent poll from Angus Reid has Clark’s Liberals trailing the BC NDP by 20 points, heading into next month’s election.
The same pollster also ranked Canada’s premiers by their approval ratings yesterday. Clark is dead last, tied with Newfoundland’s Kathy Dunderdale at 25 per cent support, but you wouldn’t have known that based on the tone of her speech and the reaction she got from the room full of party supporters.
“I know the media loves to track to the polls, but this isn’t a horse race, either,” Clark said.
“This is a choice. It’s is a deeply-personal choice every individual is going to make when they walk into the polling booth and choose their future… That’s why I’m so confident that despite the polls and despite what the media say, that we are going to win this election.”
Three heavyweights in BC’s business community — Lululemon CEO Christine Day, Cactus Club founder Richard Jaffray, and condo marketer Bob Rennie — co-chaired the event.
“We did it – this year’s Premier’s Dinner has raised more money than any fundraiser in the history of this party,” said Rennie. “Tonight’s event will allow the premier to continue to reach out to voters on the importance of re-electing a government focused on growing British Columbia’s economy.”
In a release, Jaffray said that he believes the race will continue to tighten as the focus shifts to a question of which party has a better plan to inspire confidence in our economy.
Earlier, as supporters started to arrive, they were greeted by close to three dozen people who had gathered to handout pamphlets to those heading inside. They yelled “shame” as people walked through the doors.
Members of the Social Housing Coalition of BC were calling on the province to put the people’s needs ahead of what they call corporate greed. Their hope is to get 10,000 units of social housing and rent control, and to make it an election issue.
The group had hoped to get the attention of Christy Clark and some of the richest and most powerful people in attendance.
