In Vancouver Centre Tuesday night, the upstart professor running for the NDP got his egghead handed to him by incumbent Liberal Hedy Fry. But Michael Byers vows to come back and run against Fry next election.
At the NDP’s election night gathering at Heritage Hall on Main Street, Byers, an expert in international law, said his rookie run for office taught him campaigns can be “brutal,” yet admitted he’d “caught the bug.”
Byers’ campaign manager Am Johal said the provincial NDP’s stand against the carbon tax turned off a lot of environmentally conscious voters in the West End.
Byers turned down an invite from Stephane Dion to run for the Liberals in another riding, but had no regrets. He had serious policy differences with Dion’s platform on climate change and Afghanistan, Byers said. “I went with my heart.” Besides, “the Liberals are in real trouble now, facing a leadership race and their finances are shaky.” In contrast, Byers said, the NDP became a better oiled machine this election. The intellectual threw sparks at debates, garnering headlines, but arrived a virtual stranger in the West End. The colourful, occasionally controversial Fry has developed a bond with voters that gave her a sixth victory.
Fry won handily with 19,438 votes. Runner up Lorne Mayencourt, the Conservative, garnered 14,224, Byers drew 12,043, and former B.C. Green party leader Adriane Carr came in fourth with 10,316.
“We were in the mix,” said Byers. “Realistically, we are just where I want us to be.”
David Beers is editor of The Tyee.
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Budd Campbell
3 years ago
The Cabon Tax Thing
If one reads any of the material on the economics of climate change, you soon come across one of the major conclusions. A carbon tax and a cap and trade system will have ultimately similar impacts on prices and quantities.
So how is it that 200 university economists in Canada then went on to say, but of the two, it must be a carbon tax? Their open letter makes a few arguments on how a tax is the preferable policy instrument, but for these to hold it must be the case that the first conclusion, that the two measures will have identical long run impacts, needs to be heavily qualified.
Academics who prepare election manifestos may be trying to influence the discussion of the particular issue they write about. On the other hand, to borrow a famous bit of economic phrasing, there could be other interests, including economic interests, at work. Academic faculties are not known for a complete absence of political struggles and even rough political horseplay, and of course there are career related concerns about how the federal research and granting councils are operated.
I think investigative reporters have a duty to investigate, not salivate, when academics prepare open letters and post them to the Net.
Luke Skywalker
3 years ago
Vancouver Centre...
That's still one of my biggest surprises on election night... that the Cons came in 2nd place and the NDP in 3rd. Never saw that one coming.
The riding has been trending rightward with the unabated condominium development.
Compared to Kennedy Stewart's NDP run in 2004, the NDP is down around 5,000 votes and only captured 21%, albeit the Greens captured 18%.
That's an interesting comment juxtaposed against the current by-elections in Vancouver Burrard and Vancouver-Fairview, which essentially comprise the federal riding of Vancouver Centre!
carfreed
3 years ago
the carbon tax
The above two comments have each covered important aspects but for me the biggest factor in this election was the US generated economic crises which caused a reactionary vote. That demonstrated to me that many Canadians were more concerned about about their investments, stock portfolios and the price at the pumps than the longer term issue of climate change.
We needed town hall style panel discussions on the issues.
The media focused on polls, gaffes, and attacks and who was where.The Globe and Mail endorsed the Conservatives. I question if that should be allowed. CTV had THEIR TURN with the the takes clips.
Having grown up in rural Saskatchewan and educated in bogotry towards French Canadians I believe that subtle prejudice affected the stronger voting pattern for the Blue sweater team too.
Basically, it was a pocket book vote.
Big bully tactics were put aside, overlooked in favour of dollars and cents.
Harper appeared much more well fed, comfortable and confident on our image making device, the TV.
G West
3 years ago
hard to tell carfreed
Clearly Harper's buttoned up campaign also turned a lot of voters off.
What the conmen gained in the west - they lost in the East and in Quebec... I agree the idea that the incumbent should be able to dodge every interaction with the voter and the other candidates is bizarre.
The 'virtue' of maintaining a certain sang-froid is one thing Pee Wee does understand.
However, the structure and style of the contest played to his tactics. The networks and the other parties should have simply refused to play ball.
de Falla
3 years ago
Lessons Learned
It is interesting that Mr. Johal would speak only to the axe the tax campaign at the provincial level. It was essentially Jack’s message as well. And neighbouring urban ridings went NDP.
Mr. Byers was up against two tough, competitive candidates. Fry is a good riding MP and Mayencourt had a strong base to work off of from his provincial work. Congratulations to Mr. Byers for taking a run against such tough odds.
We don’t have poll by poll numbers to review yet, but expect Yaletown was a great disappointment for the NDP. The election was about the economy, and the voters in those polls are probably more literate on the matter than most, or at least have much to be anxious about, be it debt load or wealth.
The NDP historically has a reputation for organizing well and above other parties, but in Yaletown and other dense and highly secured communities the model doesn’t seem to work as well. Add to that a confused message (shutting down the oilsands is an interesting way to attract Yaletown mutual fund investors) and the result is…
No, the reasons are much more complex than Mr. Johal’s sound-bite would suggest, though it does fit a certain narrative important to some. Could we ask Mr. Johal what lessons he learned of his own decisions, what he would do differently if he had an opportunity to re-play? That might be an interesting story for The Hook readers.
As for the by-elections, don’t expect a turn-over in Burrard as Yaletown remains a factor until the May election and the revised boundaries. The NDP should be able to hold Fairview, if they put aside egos and examine carefully all lessons learned. Maybe ask Joe Barrett?
Wilfred Laurier
3 years ago
Hmmmm
"Clearly Harper's buttoned up campaign also turned a lot of voters off."
Maybe it turned you off, Garth. But he did gain more seats than he had before so he must have done something right.
Vancouver Centre is a riding with one of the highest levels of income and education in Canada. Any candidate who wants to win there had better have done their homework. All the parties seem to like to think that gay voters will somehow always support a gay candidate. This has never been the case. Even NDP messiah Svend got flummoxed by Hedy Fry last time around.