B.C. Conservatives, NDP field full slate of candidates

In the last provincial election, theB.C.Conservativesfielded just 19 candidates and received lessthan twoper cent of the vote.

Now the party's website lists afullslate of 93 candidates for the Oct. 19 election, covering everyB.C. riding, ahead of the close of nominations on Saturday, and polls suggest the party under Leader John Rustad is running neck and neck with the governingNDP.

David Black, an associate professor at the school of communications and culture at Royal Roads University, said it was "extraordinary" that theB.C. Conservative Party had been able to field afullslate, which shows the party had moved at a scale and speed "very unusual" inB.C. politics.

"This is a party that a year and a half ago was in the low single digits for popular support and has not fielded afullslate of candidates in decades," said Black, a political communications expert.

TheNDPhas also put together afullslate of candidates, while Green Leader Sonia Furstenau said this week her party had about 80 candidates.

As of Friday morning, thecandidatelist on the ElectionsB.C.website showed 91 Conservative candidates who had filed nomination papers,NDPcandidates in all 93 ridings, and 39 Green candidates.

The Official OppositionB.C.United, whose Leader Kevin Falcon last month ended the party's campaign to avoid vote-splitting with theConservatives, does nothaveany candidates listed by ElectionsB.C. butsaid it planned to run some candidates to leave open a door to the party being resurrected for future elections.

Thirty-one official candidates have chosen to designate themselves as "Independent," including some former B.C. United members who did not go on to receive Conservative backing.

Nominations must be filed with district electoral officers by 1 p.m. Saturday.

Black said theConservativeshad faced the challenge of combining a pool ofB.C.United candidates with their own original candidates.

"Organizationally speaking, whatever happens on Oct. 19, to field afullslate of candidates, as theConservativesare doing it'sjust kind of an extraordinary feat of political organization," said Black, "So, that's got to be respected and recognized."

Running a big slate of candidates is important for any major party,butnot just for receivingvotesthis election the total number ofvotescast for a party's candidates across the province helps determine its finances for the next election.

This is a factor being felt by theConservatives, who are starting well behind theNDPin terms of the amount of official subsidy they receive.

Under theB.C. Election Act, parties receive an annual public subsidy of $1.81 for each vote received in 2020.

TheNDPreaped $1.6 million this year, while theB.C.Conservativesreceived $65,000.

Ironically, runningmorecandidates this year will likely boostB.C. Conservative finances in a subsequent election butit stretches party funds even thinner this time around.

Black said that the relatively small size of theConservatives' current subsidy wouldhavean impact on advertising, hiring professionals to run campaigns and office rentals and dividing it between 93 ridings would be a challenge.

"The less money youhave, themoredifficult those things become, obviously," said Black.

"What does a party do that has a lot of passion and a lot of momentum butdoesn'thaveas much money as their competitors?"

Black said a popular party that had tight finances had another resource.

"The most effective form of advertising is also the least expensive, effectively free, and that's volunteers at your door, putting their body and their face and their personal commitment to any of the three parties here running."