The BC election campaign enters its second week with the full list of candidates, and the leaders’ debate is imminent

VICTORIA – The election campaign in British Columbia is entering its second week. Each party’s candidate teams are on site and leaders look ahead to the upcoming televised debate.

The Oct. 9 debate will be one of the few opportunities British Columbia voters will see the leaders of the New Democrats, British Columbia Conservatives and Greens face off during the election campaign.

NDP leader David Eby and BC Conservative leader John Rustad spent the first week of the campaign making verbal personal attacks on each other and criticizing each other’s policies.

Eby says Rustad’s conspiracy-supporting anti-vaccination position could end up hurting people and the health care system, while Rustad says the NDP leader’s weak leadership and left-wing stances are hurting the province.

According to Elections BC, the final list of nominated candidates for the Oct. 19 vote includes 93 from the NDP, 93 from the BC Conservatives, 69 from the Greens and 40 independents.

Elections BC’s list does not include official opposition BC United candidates, but does include five candidates from the Freedom Party of BC, four Libertarians, three representatives from the Communist Party of BC and two candidates from the Christian Heritage Party of BC

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.

The Canadian Press