B.C. NDP pleads with Green voters, Liberals woo traditional support
Last Updated: Friday, May 8, 2009 | 10:28 PM PT
CBC News
B.C. NDP Leader Carole James says supporters of the Green Party should vote for her party to avoid 'environmental destruction' if the Liberals win another four-year term. (CBC) The B.C. NDP and Liberals accelerated their election campaign activity Friday to drum up support from voters before British Columbians head to the polls Tuesday.
NDP Leader Carole James was on an 18-hour blitz in the Lower Mainland, stopping at more than 12 ridings.
Besides emphasizing her platform and denouncing the Liberals, James made a direct plea to supporters of the Green Party of B.C. on Friday night at a rally in East Vancouver.
"I say to voters who are considering voting for the Green party that I understand your concerns," James told a crowd at the Croatian Cultural Centre.
"I understand you're concerned for our province and for our planet, but if you want to keep the rivers in public hands, if you want real action on environmental protection, your vote can make the difference between four years of environmental destruction or real change — vote NDP."
B.C. Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell asks every British Columbian to vote on election day. (CBC) Green Party Leader Jane Sterk has countered the NDP argument that the Green votes belong to James's party. And environmentalists have come out in full force to oppose the NDP campaign promise to cut the controversial carbon tax.
Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell spent Friday night in the Okanagan, a traditional Liberal stronghold, shoring up support.
"It's so great to be here with all of you, and it's so great to see so many people who've worked so hard for so long to make this one of the truly great places in our province to live," he told a cheering crowd at the Pentiction Convention Centre.
He repeated criticism of the NDP's promise to raise the minimum wage, saying it would cost the province 50,000 jobs, and asked everyone to vote on election day.
"Now is the time.…Four days for you to talk to your friends, to your families, to the people down the street, to the people you work with.…Let's make sure that everybody that you know votes," Campbell said.
