Keith Baldrey

3 weeks ago | straight.com | Keith Baldrey

The dramatic redrawing of the political landscape that occurred in the recent federal election is helping to push the BC NDP government and the national Liberal government closer and closer together. The first tangible clue to this evolving relationship came into sight on April 7, just three weeks before election day. Liberal leader Mark Carney’s campaign team had been pestering B.C. Premier David Eby’s office for days, wanting to set up a meeting between the two leaders during the campaign.

Nov 14, 2024 | straight.com | Keith Baldrey

When the Covid pandemic was declared in March 2020, then-BC Premier John Horgan called me into his office at the provincial legislature. “I’m not going to be running this thing,” he told me, referring to the province’s response to the public health emergency. “You’re not going to see me in front of the television cameras every day.”He insisted instead that figures such as Dr. Bonnie Henry, Health Minister Adrian Dix, and other members of his cabinet would largely be leading the way.

Oct 30, 2024 | straight.com | Keith Baldrey

The aftershocks from the political earthquake that was the 2024 BC provincial election are going to be felt for quite some time yet, and they will rumble their way through all three parties with MLAs in the provincial legislature. The ruling New Democrats are now a chastened bunch, with 15 members of their caucus going down in defeat. The party’s razor-thin majority win is a shadow of its historic and massive victory in the 2020 election.

Oct 15, 2024 | castanet.net | Keith Baldrey

Some odds and ends and random thoughts as the election campaign enters its final week: No matter which party wins the provincial election on Saturday, Oct. 19, one thing is certain: the makeup of the B.C. legislature will undergo the biggest change — in terms of new faces — in almost 20 years. There will be at least 34 brand new MLAs elected (28 to fill retirements and another six to represent the new additional ridings).

Oct 7, 2024 | vancouverisawesome.com | Keith Baldrey

We have crossed the half-way point of the election campaign, and both main political parties appear to have landed on what they hope is the ballot box “question” on voting day. For the B.C. NDP, the question is “who would make the best premier?” For the B.C. Conservatives, the question is “is it time for a change?” Both questions play well for each party.