BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau is hoping to turn her momentum from the televised leaders’ debate into a historic first seat on the mainland in the 2020 B.C. election.
Furstenau will be in Horseshoe Bay on Tuesday in the riding of West Vancouver-Sea to Sky. The BC Greens finished second there in 2017 and are hoping to improve on the result with candidate Jeremy Valeriote.
BC Liberal incumbent Jordan Sturdy is running again, and he won by a little more than 3,500 votes last time. But the Greens believe Furstenau’s debate performance and the Liberals’ decreasing popularity could lead to an upset victory.
Furstenau will be focused on economic recovery from COVID-19 and support for the tourism sector.
Her party would allocate $300 million to create a six-month rent subsidy program for small businesses and to cover 25 per cent of the rental costs for certain owners. To qualify, small businesses are limited to $50,000 in monthly rent costs.
BC NDP Leader John Horgan is once again heading to the riding of Coquitlam-Burke Mountain. Horgan is focused on seniors’ care and will be hosting a round-table discussion. Former MP Fin Donnelly will be there as well.
The NDP has promised to launch a Silver Alert system if re-elected. The plan is to work with community groups and the BC Seniors Advocate to develop a system to help assist first responders locate missing seniors, particularly those with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Horgan is also committing to expanding publicly funded home care to provide better care and help with daily living including bathing, dressing and meal preparation.
Tuesday afternoon will see him in North Vancouver-Seymour with local candidate Susie Chant. Chant, a nurse, will be part of a roundtable with Horgan on nursing issues.
The NDP has promised to create B.C.’s second medical school, to be based in Surrey, that would increase training for doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and other health professionals.
Finally, BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson will be at Nicomekl Farms in Surrey to talk about the Agricultural Land Commission.
The Liberals have promised to restore the rights of farming and ranching families so that they earn supplemental income on their farms, and restore opportunities for reasonable forms of secondary residences on farm land.
Wilkinson is also expected to announce a pledge to improve access to farm workers by reducing obstacles to the recruitment of skilled and semi-skilled labour.
His afternoon will be spent in Richmond, first with a visit to Teresa Wat’s campaign office. The Liberals have spent a lot of time in Richmond trying to protect the four seats the party win in 2017.
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