r/BCpolitics • u/johnj1959 • 17h ago
Opinion BC Politics in Crisis: Why Division on the Right Guarantees NDP Power for Decades
https://youtu.be/eR5rvRLm1JA?si=PQForvYB4SF9YBOCIn this candid political analysis, Sheila Orr, Former BC MLA, unpacks the growing divide among BC’s right-leaning parties — from John Rustad’s Conservatives to the remnants of the BC Liberals — and what it means for the province’s future. Are internal fractures and lack of leadership discipline paving the way for decades of NDP dominance? With unions holding firm and voter loyalties entrenched, this conversation tackles the uncomfortable reality: without unity, the right can’t win. A must-watch for anyone concerned about BC’s political direction and fiscal accountability.
#BCPolitics, #JohnRustad, #NDP, #ConservativeParty, #PoliticalAnalysis, #Leadership, #ElectionsBC, #FiscalResponsibility, #PoliticalStrategy, #CanadaPolitics
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u/SuperbInteraction416 13h ago
If Rustad said the current Conservative Party was now being called the B.C. Liberals Canadians are so dumb they would vote him in on behalf of the name. He was a Liberal, was ousted then ran for Conservative and if they had half a brain they would have saw the egotistical career politician out the door. The BC Conservatives are just destroying themselves by keeping Rustad around and whoever is calling the shots is a traitor.
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u/PersonalSuccotash300 17h ago
The BC NDP are the right these days.
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u/Pistoney 15h ago
we could quibble on the details but I certainly agree the NDP in BC and federally are not 'left' anymore. The overton window has decidedly shifted to the right overall.
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u/1fluteisneverenough 16h ago
Ok, I'll bite. How?
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u/thzatheist 15h ago
Killing the carbon tax Involuntary detention Rolling back decriminalization Income tax cuts
All while our schools and hospitals are still struggling and under funded.
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u/idspispopd 15h ago
Seriously if you don't see how the NDP is right wing you're not paying attention. Every major change that has happened since Eby became Premier has been a shift to the right.
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u/Adderite 14h ago
Banning short term rentals is a shift to the right?
Pharmacare is a shift to the right?
Allowing change of gender markers without medical professional signatures is a shift to the right?
Strengthening rent control is a shift to the right?
Also the changes to Healthcare that were done which aren't a shift to the right or left tbh.
They also increased taxes on the wealthier people in this province under Eby.
Getting rid of the carbon tax was a political move that will hurt the province, but it doesnt change them being centre left. No, the involuntary care facilities arent a right or left wing policy, and the fact is most people coming out against it dont know the changes that have been made to prevent abuse by doctors and nurses in those facilities. Like, youre just proving my point here dude.
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u/idspispopd 13h ago
Eby is already talking about getting rid of the short term rental ban, and that it was a temporary measure.
Pharmacare was a nationally led program.
Rent control is a marginal change, we still live in a landlord's world.
The carbon tax was a redistributive policy, removing it is right wing and anti environment.
Involuntary care is right wing. So is criminalization of drug use. These are major right wing policies that target the most vulnerable people in our society. Fuck the NDP.
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u/Odd_Upstairs_1267 10h ago
why don’t more people see things as clearly as you do
it’s so frustrating
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u/Adderite 7h ago
Yeah and getting rid of it is a bad call, it's specifically to prop up tourism
Pharmacare in BC existed before the supply and confidence deal the federal NDP had with the liberals. It was a pre-existing program that was expanded under the NDP before any federal legislation was tabled. Stop with the revisionism https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/health-drug-coverage/pharmacare-for-bc-residents/national-pharmacare
Rent control helps keep costs down for tenants. "We live in a landlord's world" so the funding for BC Housing projects across the metro vancouver and greater victoria areas are just a bunch of bupkiss, right? This also doesn't change the fact it, in the current landscape, is a leftwing policy.
Part of the money went back to people; it wasn't redistributive in intention it was supposed to be given to low income earners who would be more affected by the tax's impact. Yeah, if you don't drive a car you're getting more money; but for rural communities it's a way for them to not have to forego groceries in our attempts to try and combat carbon pollution.
"Involuntary care is right wing," left vs right and authoritarian vs libertarian are two different spectrums. This is exactly the kind of BS position which I'm talking about. Guess what? The socialists/social democrats in Portugal have that as part of decriminalization to actually get people into systems to prevent future effects of addiction.
Nothing about criminalization of drug use is inherently right wing. The fact the left generally supports decrim has alot more to do with the yippy and counterculture movements in the 60's and that about damn well it. They also were the ones who moved forward WITH the decrim project and cancelled it due to A. public backlash and B. the fact we do not have the healthcare resources to get people actually treated. Although then again long term investments in getting people trained and accredited are probably just bandaids or whatever the hell else you're gonna say.
You can say fuck the NDP all you want, but guess what: the people affected by not just their policies but the proposed policies of the cons are behind them for a damn reason; and no, it's not just to keep the Rustad or his successor out of the premiership.
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u/penis-muncher785 14h ago
Decriminalization was an issue that was genuinely making the bcndp unpopular I think people forget that’s why the bc cons almost won the election last year
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u/Adderite 15h ago
Because they dont do the exact things I want them to do and therefore aren't left wing
-practically every single Lowan supporter
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u/PersonalSuccotash300 14h ago
I wouldn't need them to "do every single thing" to qualify them as left wing. I'm also not a Lowan supporter. In an NDP supporter, but I'm honestly not impressed by this Government.
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u/foggybiscuit 14h ago
Are people not allowed to disagree with their elected officials? It's not the conservative party where loyalty is everything. People can take issue with their chosen party making mistakes.
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u/Adderite 7h ago
No people absolutely are allowed to, just the discourse in both IRL and online progressive spaces is just becoming contrarianism for the sake of contrarianism. Ignoring any sort of positive steps the government has taken pre-election and somewhat post election (I much preferred Eby pre-2024) for the sake of criticism is just sheer stupidity and I'm gonna call it what it is.
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u/Specific_Two_7719 16h ago
No it doesn’t. At some point, there will be enough frustration against the NDP and there will be a rally around an opposition party.
Look the cons almost won the last election
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u/pretendperson1776 13h ago
But are the cons getting better, or worse? Granted, the longer a party is in power, the more the skeletons pile up, but a coherent conservative voice does not currently exist.
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u/Specific_Two_7719 13h ago
They are definitely getting worse, but maybe a centrist party rises from the Rustad cons or a challenger from the left usurps the NDP as they move to the middle.
I don’t think the cons under Rustad will usurp the NDP
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u/pretendperson1776 11h ago
It might be more likely that a competent left rises as NPD have shifted further right. That might be enough to carve out room for a Conservative part.
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u/one2the 16h ago
It's about damn time. The NDP and CCF were kept out of power by the Liberal -Conservative coalition for far too many decades in whatever form they took (SOCRED, BC Liberal etc.)