John Horgan Concludes Campaign in Surrey

NDP leader holds final rally at Guildford Sheraton
Joseph Keller, Web Editor

B.C. NDP leader John Horgan was in Surrey on the final day of his campaign to be elected B.C.’s Premier. A small rally was held at the Sheraton Hotel in Guildford on Monday May 8, the day before the British Columbia provincial election. Supporters and media crowded into the small conference centre to hear the NDP leader’s final message before British Columbians head to the polls.

In a short speech Horgan reiterated the B.C. NDP’s campaign promises to build a new hospital in Surrey, to alleviate patient wait times, and to build new schools in the province to address classroom overcrowding. Horgan also emphasized the NDP’s $10 per day childcare plan. Also included in the prospective premier’s speech were plenty of shots at incumbent premier Christy Clark and the B.C. Liberals.

“Over the past 28 days people have come up to us and said, ‘We can’t wait to have a government that works for us after 16 years of people at the top getting their way.’ It’s time the people in this room, the people in the province, and the people in this community had a premier that was working for them,” said Horgan.

Horgan both began and ended his campaign in Surrey, which contains several battleground ridings that could swing just as easily to the Liberals as to the NDP.

Clark was in Richmond for the final morning of her own campaign. As part of her message she shot back at the NDP’s criticisms of the B.C. economy under her party with a message of “hope not despair” as a rejection of the NDP’s assessment and a call for optimism for the current economic course. Horgan responded to these statements.

“This notion that the economy is working for everyone is a myth that Christy Clark likes to perpetuate,” said Horgan. “When the leader of a political movement stands up and says that someone else is issuing despair, that’s rich when you look at the record of this government.”

Horgan was asked for his response to the Vancouver Sun and other major publications’ endorsements for the B.C. Liberals. He said that he’s not concerned that these media outlets opted to throw their support behind his opposition, arguing that he “can’t recall an election where the elites have mattered less in this election campaign.”

“I went and spoke with those institutions. I did my best to convince them that it was time for a government that works for people. They decided to hold their nose [for Clark]. That’s their business,” said Horgan.

As of election day, polls are predicting a nail-biter of an election that could go either way. Horgan was asked why the NDP have not been able to take advantage of the widespread criticism of the B.C. Liberal government and pull ahead.

“Elections are caught down to the last minute and British Columbia is always a coin toss, and it’s going to be coin toss again this time, but I’m confident that we’re going to work harder than ever before to make sure that we’re going to get rid of a government that’s focused on their donors, focused on the the wealthy, and get back to a government that’s focused on people.”