‘We’re the only ones that can fight back’: Why the federal NDP is taking a close look at the B.C. election

Singh said the question that was in front of British Columbians is one that all Canadians will be faced with in an upcoming federal election

Published Oct 21, 2024  •  4 minute read

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh rises during question period in the House of Commons on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the initial election results in British Columbia are proof that the New Democrats are the “only ones” who can fight back against Conservatives and said his troops are gearing up for a similar battle at the federal level.

The results were so close that B.C. voters will have to wait another week before knowing for sure if the NDP or the Conservative Party will form government. New Democrats won one extra seat, but two ridings were so close that automatic recounts will be taking place.

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Meanwhile, the B.C. Greens won two seats, putting the province in the same situation as 2017 when they held the balance of power and ensured the NDP formed government.

Singh — who represents the B.C. riding of Burnaby South — was asked to comment on the results during a press conference in Ottawa. He said it was a “tough election, no question about it” and that there would be “a lot of lessons” that his party would learn from.

“It’s one where people were certainly frustrated and feel like life is becoming harder and harder. We saw that in the results,” he told reporters on Monday.

Singh said the question that was in front of British Columbians is one that all Canadians will be faced with in an upcoming federal election: what kind of future would they like to see?

“The future that Conservatives propose, both in that election and for the future, is one where they want to cut your health care. They want to cut the things that you need,” he said. “What we propose … is to strengthen things you need, to strengthen pensions, fix our health care.”

“These are the choices that people have to make. They made it in this election, and New Democrats showed that we’re the only ones that can fight back against Conservatives.”

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NDP MP Bonita Zarrillo, for her part, thanked all the candidates who ran provincially for the work they have done but also for “standing up against Conservative cuts.”

“We know that the Conservative history is cuts, cuts, cuts. We had a strong team in B.C. that stood up against those cuts, and I look forward to the results in just under a week.”

Over the weekend, B.C. NDP Leader and incumbent premier David Eby said it was a “hard fought” campaign, and that every vote would matter. He also said the initial results indicated a “clear majority” for progressive values and promised to work with the Greens.

B.C. Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau said that the Greens were going to play a “pivotal role” in the B.C. legislature.

But it was a historic night for the B.C. Conservatives. Leader John Rustad said “people were hungry for common sense” in the province and promised to take every opportunity to bring down a minority NDP government to get back to the polls as soon as possible.

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A similar scenario is playing out in Ottawa, where Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been championing “common sense” and putting forward non-confidence motions in an attempt to bring down the Liberals.

So far, the NDP has been reluctant to join the Conservatives’ efforts. While Singh said his party would consider each vote on merit, he also strongly hinted that his party would keep the government in power to make sure Liberals fully implement the pharmacare bill.

Zarrillo would not say if the election results in B.C. are giving her party an extra argument to wait a little longer to bring down the government.

“Right now, today, we’re focused on standing up for workers. We’re focused on doing the work for Canadians. So that’s what I’m going to stay focused on,” she said at a press conference to present her private member’s bill to end flight attendants’ “unpaid work.”

Singh said there would be “a lot of lessons” from the B.C. NDP campaign that his party would evaluate and learn from.

“But I think generally, what we’re seeing is there is a fight for the future of our country, and that fight is coming down to the vision of Conservatives and the vision of New Democrats,” he said.

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“It’s not an easy fight, but we have to fight back with our vision.”

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