The BC provincial election is 11 days away, and a Vancouver billionaire has stolen some of the spotlight from the leaders vying to be the next premier.
Chip Wilson, the founder of the globally popular lululemon brand and the owner of the most valuable property in British Columbia, has recently made headlines for election signs he has put up at his home.
The noise around those signs has become so loud that some suggest it could impact the election on October 19.
Wilson’s signs also had unintended consequences, as lululemon’s flagship Vancouver store was vandalized with a message for the billionaire, a move many believe was a response to his signs.
It all started with the first sign five days ago, which claimed that the BC NDP was a communist party. Not long after, the sign was vandalized. Since then, another sign has been put up over the last, which you can see below.
chip wilson just learned what taxes are 🤯 pic.twitter.com/MgGvCntfRI
— sam smart (@uglyblender) October 7, 2024
Mo Amir, a political commentator and host of the This is VANCOLOUR podcast, posted on X that BC United’s former campaign manager said Wilson’s billboard helped boost BC NDP poll numbers. According to the same X post, this led BC Conservative leader John Rustad to publicly distance himself from Wilson.
BC Premier David Eby responded directly to the sign in a post on X, saying, “Chip’s new sign doesn’t explain who’s paying more (Chip) and who’s getting money (not Chip). John Rustad would cut taxes for the top 2%, just like before. I’ll cut yours instead — with $1,000 for 90% of families. And I will never apologize for asking billionaires to chip in.”
Wilson also directly responded, “Sorry, Chip. A Conservative Party of BC government isn’t going to give billionaires special tax breaks.”
BC residents are taking sides
Victoria Ditkovsky/Shutterstock
The road to this year’s election has already felt pretty chippy — some pun intended — before the Vancouver billionaire made his presence felt.
Eby and Rustad, the leaders of the two most popular parties vying for power in this election, the BC NDP and the BC Conservative Party, have taken shots at each other. They came to verbal blows during a CKNW debate last week.
WEDNESDAYS: pic.twitter.com/zNs3m3UBvw
— No Context BC Gov (@NoContextBCGov) October 2, 2024
Wilson’s sign has only seemed to fuel that division based on reactions in the comments of some of our stories and on social media, including X and Reddit.
Some have supported Wilson, agreeing that Eby and his party are communists, while others have criticized him. Others have taken a neutral stance on the whole thing.
One Redditor said, “Chip wasn’t so upset when it was taxpayer’s money paying to redesign and upgrade his entire street at his whim.”
“Chip Wilson is getting the type and amount of free advertising that a marketing director can only dream of,” said communications strategist Peter Kim on X.
Paul Finch, the president of the BC General Employees Union, said, “Chip Wilson doesn’t like how much the ultra-rich pay in taxes, so he calls it ‘communism.’”
Finch added, “He wants Conservatives elected so you can pay more, and the ultra-rich can pay less.”
In response, many came to Wilson’s defence.
“Chip Wilson built an empire out of literally nothing. That’s why you hate him so much,” one X user said.
In the comments of our lululemon vandalism story, many sided with Wilson.
“I spent some time in the Soviet Union. I know what a communist is. I know how that system works. Eby is a full-on communist,” one reader said.
All party leaders will have a chance to say their piece during the only televised debate tonight at 6:30 pm.
Does anything about the drama around Wilson’s property and the election signs impact your sentiments leading up to the upcoming election, or is it irrelevant? Let’s hear it in the comments.