B.C. election campaign period officially begins

The British Columbia election campaign period has officially begun Saturday, and political leaders have officially kicked off their campaigns.

NDP Leader David Eby began his early Friday by getting on the party’s bus and heading straight to Surrey, which is expected to be a major battleground for the New Democrats and B.C. Conservatives.

His bus will be making several Lower Mainland stops Saturday on the first full day of campaigning, starting in Richmond for the opening of his campaign office.

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad started his campaign at Vancouver’s CRAB park Saturday, the site of the city’s only legally sanctioned encampment. Earlier this year, the city spent thousands on a “clean up” of the encampment, which was criticized by unhoused advocates.

Rustad will also be at an election rally on Vancouver Island later in the day.

BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau gave a speech Saturday at her campaign launch in Victoria, saying her party is already putting up signs on Vancouver Island.

She was quick to highlight the environment, saying we in B.C. need to not be the “climate laggers” that we currently are.

“We have access to abundant clean energy, we have communities and First Nations ready to go to be the leaders,” she said.

“And what we need is a provincial government that doesn’t get in the way of that leadership.”

Furstenau says her party plans to address deep poverty in the province.

“We shouldn’t be talking about reducing poverty,” she said. “We should be talking about eliminating poverty”

Meanwhile, Rustad criticized the NDP and highlighted the struggles of the unhoused who face addiction.

“Unlike David Eby, I’m not interested in building drug dens in neighborhoods where we continue to just distribute this drug problem in communities,” he said.

“We do need to build out housing and support that’s needed, but the key there is you need to be able to address the addictions.”

Eby says addictions and the toxic drug crisis are big challenges, and everybody deserves safe communities, and that includes people struggling outside.

If elected, Eby says he will also be focused on reducing the costs that British Columbians face every day.

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