Anjali Appadurai running for BC NDP leadership

There is officially a race for the leadership of the BC NDP and premier seat.

Anjali Appadurai has announced her candidacy, challenging Attorney General David Eby in the contest.

Appadurai ran for the federal in NDP in 2021. She finished second in Vancouver-Granville, just 431 votes behind Liberal Taleeb Noormohamed. Appadurai is also a climate activist, working as the director of campaigns for the Climate Emergency Unit.

Speaking to CityNews, Appadurai says that while she was initially reluctant to throw her hat in the ring, there were a lot of people knocking on her door to join the race.

“In recent weeks, I’ve been hearing from a large and growing movement of largely young people and people who are seriously disillusioned with the direction that this party has taken over the past decades, especially over the last couple of years,” she said. “And I think it’s important to have those voices heard in this leadership race, and so I answered that call and decided to step up and do this.”

Appadurai says that tackling the climate emergency is a “heavy priority” for her campaign, especially with recent climate events, such as last year’s record-breaking heat dome, the destruction of the Town of Lytton, and the atmospheric river in November.

Related articles:

• B.C. Premier John Horgan to step down

• David Eby seeking BC NDP leadership, premier seat

“What that actually means is a lot more expansive than just reducing our emissions,” she explained. “To tackle the climate emergency would mean to spring into emergency mode, and change our priorities in terms of where we invest and decide to invest in people instead of corporations, and turn the economy in a different direction, invest in good jobs for people, and put people before the companies that are making a buck off this crisis.”

As someone who has worked as a climate activist and has been directly engaging with the provincial government for the past many years regarding the environment and climate, Appadurai says she’s grown disillusioned.

“What we’ve seen time and time again, is a sort of refusal to actually put checks and balances on industry, and to actually mandate a wind down of the fossil fuel industry, and invest in a transition to a cleaner economy that puts workers first. That’s been a massive failing.

“This government has also supported the TMX pipeline [Trans Mountain pipeline expansion], which is now costing taxpayers over $20 billion. These large industrial projects do not have the buy-in of people, they don’t have the buy-in of Indigenous Nations, as the land they go through, like the CGL pipeline has been the subject of incredibly visible colonial violence. And so there are so many choices on the environmental record that this government has not made in the interest of people or the planet,” she said.

Appadurai says her candidacy represents a large number of people across the province who don’t believe in the current direction of the NDP party.

She believes she represents some of the “original” values of the party, including “investment in the public good and putting people and workers first.”

“This race isn’t about just stepping up and entering the conversation and having our voice heard. This race is about engaging power, and it’s about how many people want to see this administration turn around, who wants to see fresh leadership, who want to see a reprioritization of the economy, the environment,” she said.

She says her mandate is “to simply tell the truth.”

“I think everyone should be able to see the track record of this government on issues of the environment, and on housing, and on health care, and the poisoned drug supply crisis. [These] should all be debated, talked about, laid bare, and the concerns of the party’s grassroots should be placed front and center. So that’s going to be my strategy, to just lay all those truths out for British Columbians,” she said.

Current NDP leader, Premier John Horgan, announced in late June he will step down after a replacement is elected later this year, citing his health.

“Many of you will know, in fact I’m pretty sure it’s not a secret, that I have gone through my second bout of cancer and successfully went through 35 radiation treatments and I am currently cancer-free. My health is good but my energy flags as the days go by,” he said on June 28.

“So before I could ask my colleagues what their plans were for the coming two years and beyond, I had to ask myself that,” the premier continued. “We came to the conclusion that I’m not able to make another six-year commitment to this job.”

Late last year, Horgan announced that he had been diagnosed with cancer again after he discovered a lump in his neck. He finished his treatment in January.

The new leader of the BC NDP will run against BC Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon in the next provincial election, slated for next year.

The BC New Democrats will elect their new leader on Dec. 3, 2022. The campaign period started on July 17, with voting beginning “as early” as Nov. 13.

People can sign up as members to vote until Sept. 4. The deadline for members to enter the leadership race is Oct. 4.

Some believed Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West would also step forward as a candidate. However, he quashed those rumours Wednesday by announcing he is seeking re-election in the upcoming civic election.

 With files from Hana Mae Nassar, Liza Yuzda and Kurtis Doering