Much media attention is being devoted to how badly the polls differed from the provincial election results. As the co-chair of Shirley Bond's re-election campaign for the BC Liberals, I saw a different view - one that spoke more of swings in opinion than of errors in polls.
This election appeared to be the first in which a major political party targeted large parts of its central message to the environmental movement. While established parties have had elements that were "green-friendly", the NDP's platform directly appealed to committed environmentalists. That meant it had to wrestle with the central problem facing the environmental movement, namely how to reduce development without killing jobs, and it did not do this well.
Several of my friends are active within the NDP. The view that I heard from them was that the "urban green" vote (mostly in Vancouver and Victoria) was large, active and reachable. The prevailing impression was that the NDP would set the rules based heavily on environmental concerns, and business would just have to figure out how to work within those parameters. They had no idea how business would do that, but committed environmentalists rarely trouble themselves with such matters, so it would be fine.
During the last four weeks of the campaign many voters understood that the NDP did not know how to keep the economy strong even as they scrapped major oil & gas, mining and energy projects. The BC Liberals offered working people a convincing message that they would continue to have jobs with our plan, and the NDP did not. As most people have to work for a living, far more "undecideds" voted for us than the NDP.
My main take-away from the 2013 BC Election is not the limits of pollsters, but the need for a clear vision. As a society we need to solve our environmental problems, but we must offer voters tangible, workable plans for doing so. Ideology does not pay the bills, so we'd better have some viable options if we want a mandate to lead.
Until we figure that out, look for more surprises like the one we had on May 14, 2013.
Charles Scott
Co-chair, 2013 Campaign
Prince George Valemount
BC Liberal Party
