I spent almost five hours at the B.C. NDP headquarters at the 麻豆传媒映画Convention Centre on election night, May 9, which allowed me time to strike up conversations with many NDP supporters crowded into the ballroom watching the results. And, as the bar opened and the drinks got flowing, their reasons for not voting for Liberal leader Christy Clark became shall we say, much more interesting. The following are the top 10 reasons some of the voters attending the party refused to vote for Clark's Liberals.
- Clark鈥檚 proposal to introduce ride sharing: I spoke with several cab drivers who told me they were long-time Liberal supporters who felt they had no choice but to fight against the introduction of businesses such as Uber to B.C. One told me he has a $500,000 mortgage and he鈥檚 afraid of losing his home if the program is introduced.
- Affordable housing, or the lack thereof: Several voters told me they鈥檙e struggling financially to keep up with their rent or mortgage. They also mentioned the NDP鈥檚 plan to build more co-op housing as a reason they did vote for the party. The NDP promised to build 114,000 rental and co-op homes and provide renters with an annual home credit of $400.
- Education or, as I head last night, 鈥淥MG, don鈥檛 get me started.鈥� I spoke with several teachers who named Clark鈥檚 cuts to education funding and larger class sizes as the reason they refused to vote Liberal.
- The environment: Seriously, you want to start an animated conversation? Bring up liquefied natural gas or the Site C Dam proposal at an NDP gathering.
- Transportation: I have a feeling the woman I spoke with about transportation might also be a Vision 麻豆传媒映画supporter because the concerns she expressed were very similar to those of 麻豆传媒映画Mayor Gregor Robertson, who fears the election of the Liberals could postpone major projects, including the Broadway line.
- Medical Services Plan fees: The NDP promised, if elected, those fees would be eliminated.
- Affordable childcare: A couple I spoke to at the gathering told me one of them couldn't return to work after the birth of their baby, because they not only couldn鈥檛 find a reliable day care, they also couldn鈥檛 afford it. The NDP promised $10-a-day childcare, but when I asked the couple how the NDP would be able to afford that, they had no answers.
- Employment: A couple of young men I spoke with told me they鈥檙e struggling to find jobs that pay above minimum wage. They said besides service jobs, there is not much in the way of real employment in Vancouver.
- Access to health care: A woman I spoke with, who was using a cane, said she鈥檚 been waiting for knee surgery for two years. She blames the Liberals for her poor quality of life and for why she can鈥檛 go back to her job as a programs coordinator.
- Trust: Feeling betrayed by the Liberals was a constant theme of the voters I spoke with. Many felt聽 Clark has lied to them about issues concerning, well, almost everything.
