Both the BC NDP and the BC Conservatives have put together full slates of candidates to contest all 93 ridings in the fall provincial election ahead of Saturday’s nomination deadline.
Political communications expert David Black at Royal Roads University says it’s an impressive feat for the Conservatives, considering its minuscule presence in recent elections.
“[The BC Conservative Party] has not fielded a full slate of candidates in decades,” Black said.
“The last election in 2020, they only had 19 candidates.”
He says it was “extraordinary” that the party has been able to field a full slate, which shows the party has moved at a scale and speed that is “very unusual” in B.C. politics.
Black also says the speed with which the party has soared in popular support is unprecedented.
“This is a party that, a year and a half ago, was in the low single digits for popular support,” he said.