General voting day in British Columbia’s 2020 election is just one day away.
BC NDP Leader John Horgan and BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson spent the last day on the campaign trail making their pitches in key swing ridings, while BC Green Leader shored up support in her home riding of Cowichan Valley.
Horgan has also been making a recent push in enemy territory, campaigning in ridings with a tradition of voting Liberal.
According to a new Ipsos poll commissioned by Global News, the BC NDP are on track to secure a majority government.
The final poll before election day found that 51 per cent of decided voters plan on voting for the NDP, with 34 per cent supporting the BC Liberals and 12 per cent for the BC Greens.
However, the final result may not be totally clear on election night.
According to Elections BC, between 65 and 70 per cent of all votes — in-person ballots cast at advance polls or on election day — will be counted on Saturday.
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The remaining mail-in and absentee ballots won’t be counted for another 13 days, potentially delaying results in close races.
Due to the pandemic, Elections BC said more than 1.1 million people had already voted by mail or at advance polls, more than half of all the votes cast in 2017.
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Wilkinson has used the closing days of the campaign to argue that as a doctor, he is best suited to confront the pandemic.
On the ugly side of the campaign trail, several candidates have come forward to report racist or sexist attacks on their signs.
Someone also smashed the windows at Surrey BC Liberal candidate Dave Hans’ campaign office.
And last weekend, BC NDP Stikine candidate Nathan Cullen was forced to apologize for disparaging comments he made about Roy Jones Jr., a Haida BC Liberal candidate for the North Coast.
Horgan said he was disappointed, but stood by the candidate.
But it wasn’t all nastiness.
On Thursday, Coquitlam-Maillardville BC Liberal candidate Will Davis and BC NDP candidate Selina Robinson showed up at Green opponent Nicola Spurling’s sign-waving event to show support.
The unusual show of tripartisan cooperation came after a transphobic protester crashed an event held by Spurling, who is a transgender woman, the day before.
Global News also fact-checked key claims about ending ICBC’s basic insurance monopoly and child-care funding this week.
We also took a look at Chilliwack-Kent, a riding that has become a wildcard now that incumbent Laurie Throness has resigned from the BC Liberals.
Voters looking for a one-stop-shop with information on where, when and how to vote can also check out Global BC’s B.C. election cheat sheet.
Voters can also find a complete list of ridings and candidates here.
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