B.C. NDP Leader David Eby and B.C. Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau were back on the campaign trail Wednesday, following the first and only televised leaders’ debate ahead of the Oct. 19 provincial election.
Absent from any public-facing events was B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad.
Eby was in Richmond, where he met with six supporters from multi-generational families.
Furstenau was at a rally in Vancouver where she spoke about her party’s public safety platform.
Eby said he’s focusing his provincial election campaign on commitments to B.C. residents after acknowledging he didn’t speak enough about his team’s work on the cost of living at Tuesday’s debate.
But he repeatedly turned back to his opponent, saying B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad was “vague” about his plans and pointed out again that the B.C. Conservatives had yet to release their costed platform.
In a post-debate scrum Tuesday night, Rustad told reporters his party would be releasing a platform with costs “I suspect later this week.”
“Every day, we’re putting out one, two or even three pieces of policy,” he said.
Our Katie DeRosa breaks down the key moments of the debate between B.C. NDP Leader David Eby, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad and B.C. Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau.
Eby repeatedly brought up the lack of a platform during the debate, later telling reporters he felt it should have been “the ticket to entry” because “then we can actually talk about what the plans are.”
“He needs to be clear about what his plans are, what he’s going to cut, what’s not going to be available for families, so people can make a good decision for themselves and for their communities about which direction we go,” Eby said Wednesday of Rustad.
Eby reflected on the previous night, telling reporters he was “wired” and had trouble falling asleep after the debate, adding that he would see his performance as successful if those watching at home felt he was focused on their priorities.
“That was my goal. That continues to be my goal. What drives me is being focused on addressing the issues people face in their daily lives,” he said.
Furstenau gets praise from Hollywood
At her event, Furstenau reiterated her promise to set up a task force for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirited people.
She also said she would work to disband the RCMP’s Critical Response Unit, which has been tasked with policing protests against resource extraction but is now being investigated by the RCMP’s federal watchdog agency, and pledged to work with family members of the victims of serial killer Robert Pickton to address the sense of unfairness felt by the families of his victims.
“The B.C. Greens are committed to ensuring that the justice system is truly about justice and that it reflects the systemic issues that we are yet to address in our society, including racism, poverty, and the toxic drug crisis,” she said.
Furstenau told reporters she was thrilled to receive the apparent endorsement of actor and activist Mark Ruffalo, who posted his praise of the B.C. Greens on social media platform X for its commitment to ending LNG expansion and fossil fuel subsidies.
“I’m very grateful to Mark Ruffalo for recognizing that there is a serious political party in British Columbia that takes the moment we’re in seriously,” she said.
“I just wish that the other leaders would stand up with me and also take it as seriously as I do.”
‘Unusual’ for leader to go silent post-debate: professor
The B.C. Conservatives confirmed Wednesday that Rustad had no public events planned for the day.
David Black, an associate professor at the school of communications and culture at Royal Roads University, said it was unusual for a party leader to not make a public appearance after a debate since it was an opportunity for parties to shape the message to voters delivered on stage.
“That’s when — the day after — people’s impressions are hardening into views and opinions,” Black said, adding that this applied especially to close election races and debates in which no clear winner emerged.
“People are beginning to decide, if you think in these terms, who won or lost or which leader do I like, or which one I don’t,” he said. “It’s that after-debate shaping of opinion that is as important as a debate performance itself.”
He said Rustad still has an opportunity to shape his debate messages to voters this week since that crucial moment when opinions are still forming can last 48 hours or even a few days after a debate.
“I think if a leader is absent from that, if they make themselves unavailable, I do fear — and this would be true of any leader — that there is something that they are concerned might be asked of them post-debate that would be embarrassing, that they’re defensive about something,” Black said.