Anyone who thinks B.C. politics is limited to the BC Liberals, NDP and Greens hasn't been paying attention to the province's rich political history.
For two years in the 1870s, for example, William Alexander Smith, newspaperman, nationalist and liberal reformer, (who changed his name to Amor De Cosmos to reflect his love for order, beauty, the world and the universal) was premier, and had a long political career.
Parties have come and gone over the years — the Social Credit Party being the most notable, having held the reigns of power in Victoria for more than 30 years — but it would be unfair to say that B.C. voters have only two or three choices.
Although this year there are only three candidates from alternative parties running in the Tri-Cities, BC Libertarian Jesse Velay-Vitow, in Coquitlam-Maillardville, and BC Libertarian Lewis Dahlby and BC Cascadia Party candidate Billy Gibbons in Port Coquitlam, this region has a history of candidates running from a variety of different parties.
In the 2001, ’05 and ’09 provincial elections, for example, local voters could choose from a wide variety of candidates, from the Marijuana Party, the Unity Party and the Platinum Party, as well as Your Political Party and the Refederation Party.
According to Elections BC, there are approximately two dozen political parties registered in the province.
But it appears this diversity has waned here in the Tri-Cities, where many political pundits say battles are looming between the BC Liberals and the BC NDP, with the BC Greens, polling 8% or more last time around, expected to be a decisive factor in close votes.
It's true the the May 9 election will come down to just a few candidates in each riding, with the governing party decided by how many winning candidates a party collects in our first-past-the-post system. But when researching your candidate of choice, don't forget the few who are running despite long odds.
Visit elections.bc.ca/docs/fin/Registered-Political-Parties-Information.pdf for a full list of Registered Political Parties in B.C.
