City ELECTION
BRITISH COLUMBIA’S 2017 provin-
cia l election w ill not be decided in
Vancouver or Victoria, where the
pipeline-hating urbanites often
vote NDP or Green. Nor w ill it be
decided in Kelowna or Fort St. John,
where the latte-disdaining pro-LNG
residents steadily vote right.
The election w ill be won in places
like the Pantr y in Guildford Tow n
Centre. On a busy Saturday, the mall
buzzes like an electrica l transformer
and cars and minivans circle the
maze-like parking lots. Two Surrey
parents, who helped lead a months-
long campaign to get more money
from Premier Christy Clark for
their public schools, are sitting over
popcorn shrimp and fries, assessing
which party they think is the most
likely to help their cause.
The NDP MLAs listened to their
presentation, yes, say Lisa Garner and
Karen Tan. But their promise to get
rid of all the portable classrooms in
just four months wasn’t rea listic. AndBattleground
Suburbia
With big-city problems
creeping into the land of
cul-de-sacs and
single-family homes,
no incumbent is safe.BY Frances Bulathe education critic guy, Rob Fleming,
faded away from meetings for reasons
they still don’t understand.
The Liberal MLAs, that was a
diff erent story. Sure, there was one
guy who got all defensive and tried to
make it sound like there was no prob-
lem with having 7,000 Surrey kids
in portables. But Peter Fassbender
and Stephanie Cadieux, both cabinet
ministers, they really listened.
“Those MLAs now understand our
problems,” says Tan, an accountant
who helped analyze the local school
budget and long-range capital plan.
Garner, who runs a before- and after-
school daycare in her home and works
with people with disabilities, adds
another level of analysis: “I think they
did understand, but we didn’t have
the right group of people [lobbying]before. And I think they paid atten-
tion because of the number of voters.”
Then Clark came through, just fi ve
months before the election, with
$217 million dedicated to building
new schools and additions.
Of course she did. Those Surrey
ridings are key. Fassbender won his
seat in Surrey–Fleetwood by only 200
votes in 2013, against the NDP’s Jag-
rup Brar. This time around he’ll be
facing Brar again, and the boundaries
of his riding have been redraw n, not
to his advantage.
It’s not just Surrey that w ill see
hard skirmishing. Rumblings of
discontent have risen to high decibels
in Maple Ridge. Coquitlam. Burnaby.
Richmond. Those growing suburbs
east and south of Vancouver are
uniquely poised to see sw ings amongParsing the Party (Un)Faithful Are We Headed for a Sea Change?24 VANMAG.COM MAY 2017HOME PHOTO: GORD MCKENNASay it’s time for a change of government
in B.C.—including 67% of voters aged 35 to
54 and 31% of those who voted for the BC Liberals in 2013.
Are happy to stay
with the status quo.62%
of decided voters say they will not change
69%their mind before the election. This includes38%
VOTE
HERE?
But only
of Green voters say
they’re set on their vote.73%of BC NDP
voters.74%of BC Liberal
voters.48%
SURVEY SAYS