With the B.C. NDP and B.C. Conservatives neck and neck heading into election day on Saturday, there are also a record number of Independent candidates who — if voted in — could hold the balance of power in a minority government scenario.
British Columbians have only elected one Independent MLA in the last 60 years. Vicki Huntington won a seat in 2009 and was re-elected in 2013.
But University of the Fraser Valley political scientist Hamish Telford said the situation could be different this election cycle.
Of the 40 Independent candidates running, six of them are incumbent MLAs, who carry the benefit of name recognition in their community.
“So we’ve got Independents in this election who I think we could deem to be viable shots at actually winning a riding, which is not normal,” Telford said. “They’re still long shots, but they are certainly plausible candidates.”
One of those contenders, B.C. United member Karin Kirkpatrick, had planned to retire from politics this year, but changed her mind when party leader Kevin Falcon withdrew B.C. United from the election and threw his support behind the B.C. Conservatives instead.
Kirkpatrick, who represents West Vancouver-Capilano, said she tossed her hat back in the ring as an Independent because she feels voters deserve a centrist option that’s not far left or far right.
“This is about democracy,” Kirkpatrick said at a news conference in West Vancouver on Wednesday, flanked by about a dozen former and current elected officials there to endorse her.
“Something was done to this province by the B.C. Conservatives and B.C. United to try and tell us who we’re supposed to be voting for, and taking away and disenfranchising the voting right and ability for many moderate people across British Columbia.”
WATCH | Independents voice fundraising concerns ahead of B.C. election:
B.C. United suspended its campaign last week, but now says it plans to run some candidates in the Oct. 19 election to remain a registered political party. And as Katie DeRosa reports, some former B.C. United candidates, running as Independents, say they have to start raising money all over again.
Several other B.C. United members have also decided to run on their own.
Dan Davies, an incumbent B.C. United MLA running in Peace River North, said he’s confident people in his riding are willing to support him as an Independent.
However, he said former B.C. United candidates had to start their campaigns all over again, because they were not allowed to use any of the fundraising dollars they raised before the party collapsed.
“It’s not even starting at zero. It’s six feet under, basically, once we had the carpet pulled [out from] under us. No data, no money, no nothing,” Davies told CBC News.
In the neighbouring district of Peace River South, B.C. United member and long-time MLA Mike Bernier said he is also facing an uphill battle.
“I live in a part of the province where it’s anything but the NDP,” he said.
“I don’t have the baggage [of] a party, but I also don’t have all of the support of being able to point to ‘This is what we’ll do as a platform.'”
Other former B.C. United incumbents running as Independents include Coralee Oakes, who represents Cariboo North, and Tom Shypitka, the MLA for Kootenay East.
Adam Walker is running as an Independent in the riding of Ladysmith Oceanside, after being kicked out of the NDP caucus for misconduct that hasn’t been made public.
B.C. Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau has encouraged voters to elect Independents as well as Green candidates to prevent the NDP or Conservatives from holding all the power.
If one of the two parties is elected as a minority, Independents could reach an agreement to prop up the governing party and give them a majority — as was the case with the NDP and Greens in 2017 — or could hold crucial votes on future legislation.
Whether any Independents will be elected to sit in the legislature will be determined on final voting day Saturday.