B.C. Election: Wilkinson to take centre stage at UBCM, Horgan to campaign in Surrey

The second full day of the British Columbia election campaign will be a busy one for the province’s municipal leaders.

BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson will be speaking to the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities conference on Wednesday afternoon. The annual gathering is being done virtually this year and Wilkinson will be beamed onto computer screens across the the province.

1:01 Keith Baldrey on key ridings in B.C. election

Wilkinson is still working to repair some broken relationships from the Christy Clark era. Although many of the BC Liberal politicians have changed, there are still some lingering concerns over the way Clark treated municipalities when she was premier. The most fractious relationship was between the BC Liberals and the Metro Vancouver mayors over transit.

Wilkinson is expected to tout his candidates with experience at city halls across the province. This includes Richmond city councillor Alexa Loo, Maple Ridge city councillor Chelsa Meadus, Ladysmith councillor Duck Paterson and Oliver councillor Petra Veintimilla.

The Liberal leader will follow the speech by taking questions from the media and then head off to visit with business leaders in Victoria. The Liberals won just one Vancouver Island seat in 2017 and are hoping to hold on to Parksville-Qualicum. The party is also hoping to pick up Oak Bay-Gordon Head, former Green Party leader Andrew Weaver’s old seat.

2:00 Rough start for NDP campaign

NDP Leader John Horgan will be spending the second full day of the campaign in Surrey. Health care will once again be the message as the NDP try to walk the fine balance of speaking about the health-care system without politicizing the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Horgan will be focusing on the new Surrey hospital. While governing, the NDP purchased a site for a new, state-of-the-art facility that will be built in Cloverdale beside the Kwantlen Polytechnic University campus.

Horgan is expected to speak to how the Liberals sold off land in Surrey that was earmarked for a new hospital.

1:14 BC Green leader Sonia Furstenau on record-breaking donation to party

The BC NDP gained three seats in Surrey in 2017 and the region is seen as a crucial battleground.

Wilkinson was in Surrey on Tuesday where he wrongly asserted Horgan has failed to bring a new hospital to the community.

Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau is expected to campaign on Vancouver Island Wednesday.