Party leaders cast their votes in B.C. election

Last Updated: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 | 8:00 AM PT

CBC News

B.C. Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell casts his vote Tuesday at UBC. (CBC)

B.C. Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell and NDP Leader Carole James cast their ballots in their home ridings on Tuesday, as British Columbians made their way to school gyms and church basements to pick their next government in the province's 39th General Election.

James, her husband, mother, daughter and son-in-law had a nostalgic walk to their polling station at the James Bay Community School in Victoria.

"I attended this elementary school … so it’s a real honour to be walking up the streets I played on as a kid, to think about representing the community I grew up in," said James.

Campbell was also accompanied by family members as he voted, dropping his ballot into a box at the University of B.C., west of Vancouver, and encouraging everyone to get out and vote.

"It's important for everybody to vote today, so I really hope people will vote today. It's a really critical election and they have to choose, you know, who's best to get us through these tough times and on into the future," said Campbell.

Campbell was scheduled to take the rest of the day off, but James planned to help pull the vote in her riding this afternoon, as did Green Leader Jane Sterk in her Esquimalt-Royal Roads riding.

Second ballot for electoral reform

Voter turnout in advance polls, which opened last week, hit a record high of 297,201, more than 90,000 more than voted in advance in 2005. But many commentators speculated turnout could be low Tuesday due to a lack of public interest. One poll showed more people were concerned about the Vancouver Canucks' playoff run, which ended in defeat Monday night, than the provincial election.

B.C. NDP Leader Carole James casts her vote Tuesday in Victoria. (CBC)

When voters got to the polling stations, they were asked to do more than pick a candidate to send to the legislature in Victoria. They will also got a second ballot to vote in the referendum on electoral reform for B.C.

The referendum will determine whether the province adopts the single-transferable-vote system or sticks with the traditional first-past-the-post method for electing members of the legislature. To pass, the referendum requires at least 60 per cent of votes provincewide, and more than 50 per cent of the vote in at least 51 of the 85 ridings.

Few surprises on campaign trail

The campaign for B.C.'s 39th general election officially kicked off April 14, with Campbell looking to form his third straight government since 2001 and James looking to form her first.

Along the campaign trail, both parties had their share of gaffes. B.C. NDP candidate Ray Lam was literally caught with his pants down in a Facebook photo and stepped out of the race in the riding of Vancouver False Creek, while B.C. Liberal Leader John van Dongen, the province's solicitor general and public safety minister, had to resign from cabinet after he lost his driver's licence for excessive speeding.

But for the most part, it was a campaign with few surprises and no major policy shifts, a campaign that struggled to gain the public's attention.

The B.C. Liberals' campaign focused heavily on the economy, which polls consistently ranked as the No. 1 issue for voters. Campbell, the veteran party leader, appeared in hard hats and safety vests at campaign stops across B.C., highlighting the bridges, airports, highways, ports and other infrastructure built during eight years of Liberal government.

And while Campbell's personal popularity was never high in the polls, voters consistently ranked the B.C. Liberal leader well ahead of James as the best able to deal with the economic turmoil confronting B.C.

The NDP ran a more diverse campaign that focused heavily on Campbell's record on hot-button issues such as the collapse of B.C.'s forestry industry, questions about the government sale of BC Rail, and funding levels for education, health care and seniors care. James also promised a hike in the minimum wage and a freeze on ferry fares and tuition fees.

A key challenge for James was her decision to oppose the Campbell government's carbon tax, which led many prominent environmentalists, including David Suzuki, to speak out against her. But many environmentalists also spoke out in support of her promise to put a moratorium on the many run-of-river private power projects begun under the Liberals.

Greens and B.C. Conservatives

For the most part, the two major parties dominated the election, but once again the Green Party of B.C. ran candidates in every riding, and new leader Jane Sterk was noted for putting in solid performances in all the major debates. Support for the Greens never showed any significant momentum, however, and Sterk remained a distant third in polls heading into the final stretch.

The B.C. Conservative Party ran candidates in more than 20 ridings, offering voters an alternative to the right of the Liberals while trying to build a power base in rural ridings. But the party's leader, Wilf Hanni, was not included in any of the major leaders' debates, and his party failed to rally much support in the polls as the campaign progressed.

CBC's live coverage of the election results begins in B.C. on local television and radio and Canada-wide on Newsworld and online starting at 7:30 p.m. PT.