After months of waiting, residents of the two vacated ridings of Chilliwack-Hope and Port Moody-Coquitlam will head to the polls Thursday in a historic double byelection that could dramatically shift the tide for the B.C. Liberals.
Under normal circumstances, the biggest obstacle facing Premier Christy Clark's party in these historically Liberal strongholds would be the losing record B.C. governments have in byelection races.
But a resurgent B.C. Conservative outfit, led by John Cummins, has added extra spice to the mix.
Polls have shown the threat of a centre-right vote split is real, a point underscored by the recent defection of long-serving Liberal MLA John van Dongen to the Conservatives.
But will all of this translate into real votes on election night?
The NDP also has a good shot in both ridings. Star candidate Joe Trasolini is the favourite in Port Moody-Coquitlam. And the centre-right split could see Chilliwack-Hope go NDP.
Despite breaking a 30-year government curse with her own byelection win last year, Clark is not holding her breath for a Liberal three-peat. A double loss would put considerable pressure on her already fragile leadership and could see more MLAs decide to cross the floor.
Is it the beginning of the end for the Liberals? Will the Conservatives gain steam? Will the NDP come out the big winners?
Heading into election night, only one thing is for certain: B.C.'s political landscape will be a lot different on April 20.
Original Article
Source: the province
Author: Cassidy Olivier
Under normal circumstances, the biggest obstacle facing Premier Christy Clark's party in these historically Liberal strongholds would be the losing record B.C. governments have in byelection races.
But a resurgent B.C. Conservative outfit, led by John Cummins, has added extra spice to the mix.
Polls have shown the threat of a centre-right vote split is real, a point underscored by the recent defection of long-serving Liberal MLA John van Dongen to the Conservatives.
But will all of this translate into real votes on election night?
The NDP also has a good shot in both ridings. Star candidate Joe Trasolini is the favourite in Port Moody-Coquitlam. And the centre-right split could see Chilliwack-Hope go NDP.
Despite breaking a 30-year government curse with her own byelection win last year, Clark is not holding her breath for a Liberal three-peat. A double loss would put considerable pressure on her already fragile leadership and could see more MLAs decide to cross the floor.
Is it the beginning of the end for the Liberals? Will the Conservatives gain steam? Will the NDP come out the big winners?
Heading into election night, only one thing is for certain: B.C.'s political landscape will be a lot different on April 20.
Original Article
Source: the province
Author: Cassidy Olivier
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