Election night is a great time for political junkies to gather and talk politics.
But with COVID-19 restrictions in place, most voters will turn on election night, October 24, at home. If you are looking to enjoy some cider, wine or beer with a political twist, here are 13 drink suggestions from 15 swing ridings.
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge-Mission
The riding: The two Maple Ridge ridings were the surprise of 2017. The BC NDP managed to wrestle away a pair of seats from the BC Liberals largely due to waiving the tolls on the Golden Ears Bridge. This time, both Bob D’Eith (Maple Ridge-Mission) and Lisa Beare (Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows) are running again.
The BC Liberals recruited two high-profile candidates in Chelsa Meadus (Maple Ridge-Mission) and Cheryl Ashlie (Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows). The main issues in the ridings are community safety linked to homeless camps and general affordability issues like childcare.
The drink: The Lavender Earl Grey from Foamer’s Folly is an extra special bitter. The beer took home a bronze medal at the Canadian Beer Awards in the ESB category. The Pitt Meadows brewery was created in 2015 and sits firmly in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows riding. Its tasting room boasts 20 taps and has a big outdoor patio, and offers food, including hot dogs, nachos, and pizza.
Cowichan Valley
The riding: Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau is looking to hold on to the seat she won for the first time in 2017. While Furstenau tours the province in a bid to grow the Green brand, her home riding is still up in the air. Furstenau won the seat in 2017 with 11,475 votes and won by 1,872 or a margin of 6.1 per cent.
But last time around, the NDP was in disarray due to a contentious nomination. This time they have nominated North Cowichan municipal councillor Rob Douglas to try and win the seat back for the NDP. Prior to serving on council, Douglas was a director on the Cowichan Valley Regional District board.
The drink: In July, the Cowichan Valley was officially recognized as a unique wine producing region in B.C. For the province’s newest official wine region, this means wines made with at least 95 per cent Cowichan Valley grapes can officially be labelled “Cowichan Valley”. Enrico winery makes a Vancouver Island Ortega Reserve that is crafted in French oak barrels to add a rich buttery note. The wine made in Mill Bay has hints of freestone fruit, ending with a lychee nut finish.
Columbia River-Revelstoke
The riding: In 2017, the BC Liberals took advantage of a lawsuit involving the NDP candidate to win the riding. This time, the BC NDP’s candidate carries less baggage and the party is targeting the seat to win it back.
BC Liberal candidate Doug Clovechok is running for re-election,while the BC NDP recruited Revelstoke city councillor Nicole Cherlet. The riding was the 20th closest riding in the province in the 2017 election. Clovechok won by 9.4 per cent. But the NDP have won it five of the last seven elections.
The drink: In the mountain town of Kimberley sits Over Time Beer Works. The Good Evening brown ale is a chocolate, roasty, toasty full-bodied character and described as a sound accompaniment to ringing in the evening or reining in the dawn. The beer is one of seven the brewery created in 2016.
Langley East and Langley
The riding: It’s hard to believe the two Langley ridings are even part of a conversation about swing ridings. But with changing demographics, growing support for the NDP in Metro Vancouver and two Conservative candidates, these ridings are suddenly in play.
Longtime incumbent and Liberal candidate Mary Polak is taking on NDP candidate Andrew Mercier in Langley. Shelley Jan is the Conservative candidate in a riding Polak won by 9.8 per cent in 2017. Rich Coleman held Langley East for nearly three decades but he isn’t running again. Langley Township councillor Margaret Kunst is carrying the BC Liberal and has received provincial attention for voting against a rainbow crosswalk.
She is taking on NDP candidate Megan Dykeman and Conservative Ryan Warawa. Warawa’s late father Mark was the long time MP for the area.
The drink: Smugglers Trail is a brewery named for the infamous outlaws who traveled the Smugglers Trail during BC’s 19th Century Gold Rush. Flaskers British Ale is a pub ale with strong English malts that supply toasty flavour, balanced by old-world hops that add notes of stone fruit and berry. The beer is sold in tall cans at a brewery founded in 2017 by a pair of old rugby teammates.
Coquitlam-Burke Mountain
The riding: Political junkies will be keeping a close eye on Coquitlam-Burke Mountain on election day. For the NDP, the hotly-contested riding remains an essential pickup in its quest to form a majority government. For the BC Liberals, holding the seat will be essential if it hopes to win power.
The NDP’s Jodie Wickens picked up the seat for the NDP in a 2016 by-election. She was unseated by Liberal incumbent Joan Isaacs in 2017 in an election night thriller, by a margin of just 87 votes. The 2020 contest is already shaping up to be a key race, with the NDP recruiting popular former area Fin Donnelly to run as a star candidate.
The drink: Mariner Brewing was Coquitlam’s first craft brewery and seats just on the border of Coquitlam-Burke Mountain. The beer is hard to find on Vancouver Island but has a growing fan base in Metro Vancouver. The Venture Blueberry Sour is a sour ale brewed with 1000 pounds of blueberries, lactose, and an aromatic extract of Mosaic hops.
Richmond-Queensborough
The riding: The Richmond-Queensborough race was surprisingly close in 2017. The new riding was won by BC Liberal Jas Johal over BC NDP hopeful Aman Singh by just 136 votes. What makes the margin especially stunning is Johal outspent Singh by fives times.
This isn’t happening this time around. Johal is one of his party’s most recognizable MLAs and is running again with the hopes of saving the seat. His party will rely on his name recognition and work in the riding to counter the BC NDP’s popularity in the polls in Metro Vancouver. Singh, a human rights lawyer, is hoping to parlay a successful campaign three years ago into a victory this time around.
The drink: The Fuggles & Warlock slogan has long been ‘keeping beer weird’ and one of the signature brands for the Richmond brewery has been the their ‘Last’ brand. One of the features is the The Last Mango a mango wit beer. The beer is a Belgian wit style brewed with fresh mangoes.
Oak Bay-Gordon Head
The riding: Oak Bay-Gordon Head has been a Green riding since 2013 but almost solely due to Andrew Weaver’s own popularity.
The former Green leader is not running again this election. What makes this riding so fascinating is it is the only riding in the province that has had a Social Credit, NDP, Liberal and Green MLA. (Saanich North and the Islands are close but was only created in 1991). Nicole Duncan is hoping to replace Weaver and serve under the Green banner. But the NDP have recruited a star candidate in longtime MP Murray Rankin, who has come out of retirement to run. Lawyer Roxanne Helme is the Liberal candidate.
The drink: For a riding with no McDonalds (although there are two a block away) it won’t surprise you there also isn’t a winery, distillery, cidery or brewery. But with the Capital Regional District full of great options of all four, one local brewery has made an Oak Bay-Gordon Head themed beer. Swan Brewery, one of the first craft breweries in the province, has brewed a Vikes Lager to sell at sporting events at the University of Victoria. The university happens to be in the heart of this swing riding.
Vancouver-False Creek
The riding: One of the most common faces on the NDP campaign trail so far has been Vancouver-False Creek candidate Brenda Bailey. The head of DigiBC has introduced Horgan at a handful of events and even hosted her own announcing an NDP commitment to build a school at Olympic Village.
This is not a coincidence. Vancouver-False Creek is among the top five Liberal ridings the BC NDP would like to steal on Oct. 24. In the way is Sam Sullivan, the former Vancouver mayor, who will be the BC Liberal candidate again. He won by just 560 votes in 2017, though, over NDP candidate Morgane Oger. It was a step back, considering he’d won by 2,247 votes in 2013.
The drink: In a riding full of good beer options, Steamworks has a special feel about it. The downtown brewpub overlooking the North Shore has been a staple in the craft brewing community for a long time. With the election now in the fall (it was in May last time) the pumpkin beers are now on the menu. The Steamworks Pumpkin Ale is a Canadian beer awards gold medal winner and essential drinking for anyone that likes fall in a bottle.
Boundary-Similkameen
The riding: BC Liberal Linda Larson took the seat by nearly 2,300 votes in 2017. But Larson isn’t running again and this riding has shown up on the BC NDP radar as a target to flip in 2020. The NDP held the seat in 1991, a carryover from former MLA Bill Barlee’s victory in a 1988 by-election. But the Liberals have held the seat since then.
Oliver councillor Petra Veintimilla is running for the BC Liberals. The BC NDP candidate is Roly Russell, a director for the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary.
The drink: This is wine country. Some of Canada’s best wineries are in Oliver, Osoyoos and Keremeos. Walk into your local wine store and ask for the best wine from any of these communities and an expert could hand over any of a few dozen wines. One option is the Bartier Bros. 2019 Rose. A pale pink/orange wine with a mix of merlot, chardonnay and gewürztraminer.
Courtenay-Comox
The riding: The entire 2017 election came down to Courtenay-Comox on election night. NDP candidate Ronna Rae Leonard was just nine votes ahead of Liberal Jim Benninger when the clock struck midnight on election night. The Liberals were just one seat short of a majority government and shaking their heads on how they could have lost a riding they had won by nearly 2,000 votes in 2013.
After a two-week break to count the mail-in votes, the NDP were declared the winners by 189 votes. In the end it was the second-closest riding in the province with a victory margin of 0.64 per cent. Leonard is running again for the NDP. Brennan Day is the Liberal candidate in the riding.
The drink: With 10 kinds of handcrafted ciders, Ravens Moon Craft Cider relies on local ingredients. With that many flavours, there is a lot to choose from. The West Coast Chair Cider is made with BC apples and Hornby Island tea. The special edition cider is bottled and produced in Courtenay.
Port Moody-Coquitlam
The riding: The BC NDP spent a lot of time focusing on Port Moody-Coquitlam in 2017 and it paid off. Former city councillor Rick Glumac made the successful jump from city to provincial politics. Glumac defeated incumbent Linda Reimer by a little more than 1,800 votes. Reimer was slowed in the closing days of the campaign after comments she made about supporting two-tiered health care became public. Glumac will be taking on army veteran and leadership coach James Robertson who will be the Liberal candidate.
The drink: Port Moody has become a beer destination, attempting to wrestle the crown from East Vancouver for the top beer destination in the province. Brewers Row is a place to visit from the casual beer drinker all the way to aficionado.
Everyone who has had a pint in Port Moody has a favourite. Twins Sails, and the simple white cans, stands out for many. Dat Juice is an unfiltered pale ale brewed with flaked and malted wheat, then heavily dry-hopped with 100 per cent Citra hops. It pours a cloudy pale straw colour with bright aromatics of grapefruit, pineapple and mango.
Chilliwack-Kent
The riding: It’s hard to believe Chilliwack-Kent is now in the conversation as a swing riding.The Liberal strong hold has been under brought centre stage since local candidate Laurie Throness resigned from the BC Liberal party.
Throness, a two terms MLA, quit the party before he was fired due to comments comparing free contraception to eugenics. Throness’ name is still on the ballot as a BC Liberal but if he wins the election has announced he will sit as an Independent. The riding also has a well know candidate, Chilliwack councillor Jason Lum, who is running as an Independent. The NDP won the seat in a 2012 by-election and is running Kelli Paddon as the candidate this time around.
The drink: It took a lot of beer drinkers by surprise when the the Canadian Beer Awards named Old Yale Brewing Co’s Sasquatch Stout the 2014 beer of the year. The big surprise was the fact stouts are rarely even considered for the top award and the Chilliwack brewery had been making it for years. Six years later, the beer is still a favourite among stout drinkers with notes of chocolate, espresso and dark roasted malts.
Fraser Nicola
The riding: The BC NDP are seemingly fighting a battle on two fronts. Internally the party has been divided with Indigenous leader and lawyer Aaron Sumexheltza representing the party with objections from for former MLA Harry Lali and some of his supporters. Then there is the external battle against incumbent Jackie Tegert. The BC Liberal caucus chair is looking to win the seat for the third time. The riding was the sixth closest race in the province in 2017.
The drink: Left Field Cider Co. opened its doors in Logan Lake in 2011. A family affair featuring daighter Kate and father Gord. The small batch, full juice cider makes multiple different ciders including the Pear Dry cider. A light and aromatic cider balances a floral sweetness with refreshing acidity.