By Joe Johnson (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: April 11, 2012
The upcoming provincial Chilliwack-Hope by-election is shaping up to be a true battle royale, winner-take-all with high stakes.
Running for the Liberals is Laurie Throness, for the NDP is Gwen O’Mahony, and for the Conservatives is John Martin.
The by-election was triggered last August when then Attorney General, and MLA for the region, Barry Penner unexpectedly announced he would be stepping down within the following months. Since January 9, the traditionally Liberal-held riding has been without a representative.
After an extended period of uncertainty as to when the by-election would be held, the date was finally announced by Premier Christy Clark; the vote will take place on April 19.
All the candidates had already been named by the time the announcement was made.
There is no mistake about the significance of the outcome. The Liberals need to keep the riding for a show of strength, while the NDP needs it to demonstrate that they can do more than lead the polls, and the Conservatives need it to exemplify that they are a legitimate party. Because of that, the big names have been out and campaigning alongside the candidates.
While the NDP has a 20 per cent lead over the two other parties, according to a recent Ipsos-Reid poll, no candidate is taking that as a result set in stone.
Throness has always been a man behind the scene, having worked for the federal Conservatives under MP Chuck Strahl and more recently within the provincial Liberal party. Throness is looking to take the seat by playing up his small ‘c’ conservative leanings to that base within the riding. Although, he has his work cut out for him.
Traditionally the sitting government has done exceptionally poor in by-elections. The Premier herself narrowly won her own by-election last May.
Throness stated, “I’m a person who is best qualified to do the job in terms of education and experience, and also because the BC Liberal government has managed the economy well for the last 10 years. We are balancing the budget, we have the lowest personal and corporate taxes in Canada, a very low burden of provincial debt, and a triple-A credit rating. BC is in excellent financial shape.”
O’Mahony is running in her third election in as many years. In the 2009 provincial election she ran against Penner and received 5638 votes, falling short of Penner by 3347. However, she also spent $48,532 less on campaigning than Penner did. She also ran in the most recent federal election, taking second to the Conservative’s Chuck Strahl.
John Martin, UFV Criminology professor and columnist for The Abbotsford Times, is looking to take the riding with the revived provincial Conservative party.
Martin commented on the Liberals saying, “The Liberals are a tired, spent government that is falling apart and has done nothing to earn another term in power.”
Martin also took aim at the NDP saying, “But a return to the lost decade of the ‘90s when the NDP drove jobs, investment and citizens from BC is not the answer.”
Only a BC Conservative government will get spending under control, reduce taxes and put the interests of British Columbians first. I am very much looking forward to being part of this team and bringing some common sense to Victoria.”
In a riding that has three UFV campuses, the big issues for students are the cost of education and the quality provided from post-secondary institutions. The party campaigning heaviest on education is the NDP, where recently O’Mahony and leader Adrian Dix spoke to their $100 million needs-based grant program at UFV’s Trades and Technology Centre.
When asked what his plans are for advanced education Throness stated, “Education is one of the two largest priorities of the government, which spends 66 per cent of the provincial budget on health care and education. The province has spent $40 million alone on developing the Canada Education Park. I would like to see more skills training at UFV to feed the growing industries in the Chilliwack area.”
Over the last two years there has been a $70 million decrease in post-secondary institutional grants, as explained in a letter addressed to the Minister of Advanced Education and composed by 25 different university and college presidents.
What may have an effect in altering the outcome of the results came recently when John Van Dongen, former Liberal MLA for Abbotsford West, crossed the floor to the Conservatives.
Answering to this Throness said, “I do not sense a split in the free enterprise coalition on the doorstep as I speak with hundreds of people throughout the riding. Almost everyone is aware of this by-election, and I think Mr. Van Dongen’s decision will help BC Liberal voters recognize that the threat of splitting the free enterprise coalition is real. This should increase voter turnout as voters who do not want the NDP to win, get to the polls and let their feelings be known. We may see a larger voter turnout than expected.”
Whatever the end result may be, the winner of the by-election will be doing it all again with the rest of their party when the provincial election is held in just over a year from now.
