# Election Candidate Bonanza | Political Capital Daily

An episode of [Political Capital with Rob Shaw](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553146808), 24 Sep 2026, 16 min.

Audio: https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/75326273/pcdaily_sept24.mp3

Sept. 24, 2026 So many candidates are entering and exiting provincial politics - we break it all down! Watch Rob on CHEK TV weeknights. Read more: www.robshawnews.com — Political Capital Daily is presented by: Airbnb Your daily briefing on B.C. politics — from inside the legislature

## Transcript

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[1:01] Speaker 1: Political Capital Daily. Good morning, happy Thursday to you. I'd
[1:20] Speaker 1: say we're nearing the end of the week, but the
[1:22] Speaker 1: week doesn't end in a provincial election campaign. It just
[1:25] Speaker 1: goes on and on for 32 days. This is the
[1:29] Speaker 1: second full day of campaigning in the 44th provincial general election.
[1:35] Speaker 1: Let's talk a bit about, I don't have any guests
[1:37] Speaker 1: in the show with me this morning, so let's talk
[1:38] Speaker 1: a bit about the structure of the show in a
[1:40] Speaker 1: general election campaign. Typically, I'm able to get sort of
[1:44] Speaker 1: what's happening this morning for you to kind of set
[1:47] Speaker 1: your agenda, let you know what's going on, but it
[1:49] Speaker 1: becomes more difficult in in an election because the parties
[1:53] Speaker 1: don't want the other parties to know what they're doing
[1:56] Speaker 1: and when so that they don't send protesters or rabble-rousers
[2:00] Speaker 1: to their rivals' events. I remember an election in 2017
[2:04] Speaker 1: where the BC Liberals literally sent around a truck called
[2:09] Speaker 1: a troll truck to shout insults out at NDP events.
[2:14] Speaker 1: So the parties don't really want the other parties to
[2:16] Speaker 1: know And I'm not able to get that information to
[2:19] Speaker 1: you this early in the morning. I will when I can.
[2:21] Speaker 1: It's frustrating and I'll share it when I can. But
[2:23] Speaker 1: for now, I don't have anything for you this morning.
[2:26] Speaker 1: We'll talk more about the campaign, the announcements, the context,
[2:30] Speaker 1: the type of thing you need to know so you
[2:32] Speaker 1: can understand the day as it unfolds in front of you. Plus,
[2:35] Speaker 1: the BC Conservatives do not yet have a tour functioning.
[2:38] Speaker 1: I'm told they're going to try and get it going
[2:40] Speaker 1: by this weekend, which is sort of miraculously fast for
[2:44] Speaker 1: a campaign. It started with nothing. The BCNDP do have
[2:48] Speaker 1: a tour. It's in the Lower Mainland. That is all
[2:52] Speaker 1: I'm able to say about it this morning. Instead, let's
[2:56] Speaker 1: bring you up to speed on the political news from
[2:58] Speaker 1: the last 24 hours. It's more like a tsunami. We're
[3:01] Speaker 1: going to start with names in and out of the
[3:03] Speaker 1: provincial election campaign. A big one here. Former Finance Minister
[3:07] Speaker 1: Brenda Bailey announcing she will not run again in Vancouver,
[3:10] Speaker 1: South Granville, partly in her statement due to recent cancer diagnosis,
[3:15] Speaker 1: but she also said she's cancer-free now. And there is,
[3:17] Speaker 1: like a lot of people know, tension behind the scenes
[3:21] Speaker 1: between Bailey and Premier David Eby in the last few years.
[3:24] Speaker 1: If that's not part of what is at play here
[3:26] Speaker 1: with the time she had to front a budget and
[3:28] Speaker 1: deficit she perhaps wasn't as comfortable with, but it was
[3:31] Speaker 1: on behalf of the Premier, I would be very surprised.
[3:34] Speaker 1: That is a riding. Bailey won handily with 64% of
[3:39] Speaker 1: the vote in the last election, so one that New
[3:42] Speaker 1: Democrats will hotly contest to replace her as the candidate.
[3:46] Speaker 1: Bailey is the fourth major cabinet minister to announce she
[3:49] Speaker 1: is not running for re-election. There was also Agriculture Minister
[3:53] Speaker 1: Lana Popham in Saanich South. She had clashed with the
[3:56] Speaker 1: Premier over the 50-50 agriculture food processing rule that EB
[4:01] Speaker 1: wanted to bring in on protected farmland. The other two
[4:04] Speaker 1: notable ones, we've talked in the past, Health Minister Ravi
[4:07] Speaker 1: Kalan in North Delta and Kelly Green in Richmond. Kalon,
[4:13] Speaker 1: I think we've said this here, a hugely consequential member
[4:17] Speaker 1: of the EB cabinet, the minister of everything from jobs
[4:19] Speaker 1: to housing, now health. Also, at one point, worth mentioning here,
[4:25] Speaker 1: often listed as a potential candidate to replace EB should
[4:28] Speaker 1: he ever fall within his own party and need to
[4:33] Speaker 1: be replaced, for lack of a better way to phrase
[4:37] Speaker 1: deposing a leader inside an internal party coup. It never
[4:40] Speaker 1: really got that far, but Health is not an easy
[4:43] Speaker 1: portfolio to maintain your reputation when it is in the
[4:46] Speaker 1: middle of just non-stop bad news right now. I'm not
[4:49] Speaker 1: sure if that played a part in Canelon's decision. He
[4:51] Speaker 1: said that he just simply wanted to try something new
[4:54] Speaker 1: after 10 years. But big cabinet ministers not running in
[4:59] Speaker 1: this election. On the other side of the ledger, the
[5:01] Speaker 1: BC Conservatives, another big name, announcing they're not running again.
[5:04] Speaker 1: Late on Tuesday, former Conservative leader John Rustad, who's been
[5:08] Speaker 1: the MLA for Nachaku Lake's since 2009. That's a bit
[5:12] Speaker 1: of a surprise because Rust had just been invited back
[5:16] Speaker 1: to the BC Conservative Caucus after he was fired and
[5:19] Speaker 1: rehired and fired again by leader Carrie Lynn Finlay. It
[5:22] Speaker 1: looked like he was going to run. I spoke to
[5:25] Speaker 1: him last night. He told me that at a recent
[5:27] Speaker 1: media conference, he called out Christy Clark and Gordon Campbell,
[5:31] Speaker 1: former premiers he served under, and told them to butt
[5:34] Speaker 1: out and move on from provincial politics. Their time was over.
[5:37] Speaker 1: And he told me afterwards, he thought, well, maybe my
[5:40] Speaker 1: time is over too after 17 years in politics, and
[5:45] Speaker 1: so he decided not to run. One of the most
[5:48] Speaker 1: consequential politicians in the last few years, he was fired
[5:51] Speaker 1: from BC United over his views on climate change in 2022,
[5:55] Speaker 1: went on to become the first MLA of the BC
[5:58] Speaker 1: Conservatives in recent times, then leader, then charged it up
[6:02] Speaker 1: with the help of some organizers like Angelo Isidoro and
[6:05] Speaker 1: Asha Esti and others. Got that party flying at warp
[6:09] Speaker 1: speed to the point it almost defeated the NDP. Got
[6:12] Speaker 1: 44 seats, just a couple shy in the last election
[6:15] Speaker 1: in 2024. Rustad taking the credit, as he should as
[6:19] Speaker 1: the leader, for the success of the party there with
[6:22] Speaker 1: some others. His retirement, a moment of note in BC
[6:27] Speaker 1: politics for someone who accomplished something noteworthy that the history
[6:33] Speaker 1: books will record today. The rest of the incumbent BC
[6:36] Speaker 1: Conservative MLAs were announced late yesterday as all candidates and
[6:40] Speaker 1: all running again, with the exception of Surrey's Linda Hepner,
[6:44] Speaker 1: who has retired. We're not sure if that includes Rhianne Gaspar,
[6:47] Speaker 1: the Abbotsford Mission MLA who quit her seat so KLF
[6:51] Speaker 1: could run. It may. We're not clear yet. Another big
[6:54] Speaker 1: name that is now running on the Conservative ticket, Carolyn Elliott,
[6:57] Speaker 1: the second place finisher. In the Conservative leadership race to KLF,
[7:02] Speaker 1: she lost by 60 votes on that fourth and final ballot.
[7:05] Speaker 1: She has promised to run for the party in a
[7:07] Speaker 1: riding that they're figuring out now, too. So there's an
[7:11] Speaker 1: aim to keep an eye on. Some other major moves
[7:14] Speaker 1: I want to go through here before we hit our
[7:16] Speaker 1: first break. BC Green MLA for Saanich North and the Islands,
[7:19] Speaker 1: Rob Botterill, announcing his retirement after one term. Botterill makes
[7:24] Speaker 1: way for Green leader Emily Lowen, who had spoken earlier.
[7:28] Speaker 1: about ambitiously growing the party into new ridings during her
[7:31] Speaker 1: leadership bid last year, but is instead taking what I
[7:34] Speaker 1: think is the safest riding in the province for a
[7:37] Speaker 1: Green to win, although it is tougher in recent years.
[7:41] Speaker 1: Botterill kind of squeaked it out in uncomfortable fashion in 2024.
[7:46] Speaker 1: So Lohan taking her best shot at becoming an MLA there.
[7:50] Speaker 1: Speaking of the Greens, their former leader, Andrew Weaver, reappeared.
[7:55] Speaker 1: On to the political scene, this time as a candidate
[7:58] Speaker 1: for Centre BC in Oak Bay, Gordon Hedge. You might
[8:01] Speaker 1: remember Weaver, the Nobel Prize winning climate scientist who had
[8:07] Speaker 1: a consequential moment in 2017 as the leader of the Greens,
[8:11] Speaker 1: helping to topple the Liberal government and give the votes
[8:14] Speaker 1: necessary to the NDP's John Horgan to become Premier. Part
[8:18] Speaker 1: of that bromance between Weaver and Horgan. Weaver left politics,
[8:23] Speaker 1: he left the Greens, he is not a fan or
[8:26] Speaker 1: a member of the Greens, as are a bunch of
[8:28] Speaker 1: protester radicals, and he has been championing this idea of
[8:33] Speaker 1: a centrist alternative to the Conservatives and the NDP, and
[8:36] Speaker 1: he was a supporter of Mike Bernier as the Centre
[8:40] Speaker 1: BC leader before that party basically had a big membership
[8:46] Speaker 1: growth of eight MLAs and then lost seven of them. So, leader...
[8:51] Speaker 1: Of the Centre BC is Eleanor Sturco, and her first
[8:54] Speaker 1: sort of big profile candidate here is Andrew Weaver. That
[8:58] Speaker 1: sketches out a whole bunch of activities here. It is
[9:02] Speaker 1: an interesting time when it comes to candidates because everyone
[9:06] Speaker 1: is sort of scrambling to try and find their candidates.
[9:09] Speaker 1: The nomination period ends October the 3rd, so parties are
[9:15] Speaker 1: trying to get as many names as they can up
[9:18] Speaker 1: and running in different ridings. to fill those seats. You're
[9:21] Speaker 1: going to see a lot of names and news on
[9:24] Speaker 1: that in the coming days. Let's take a break, and
[9:25] Speaker 1: then we'll talk a bit more about what's going on
[9:27] Speaker 1: on the election campaign. Political Capital Daily Free each and
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[9:45] Speaker 1: in Vancouver. Mornings start with a coffee from Denman Street
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[10:16] Speaker 1: All right, the major activities in the campaign so far,
[10:19] Speaker 1: including yesterday, I expect we'll see them carry into today.
[10:23] Speaker 1: Premier David Eby, the BC NDP leader, was at the
[10:25] Speaker 1: Peace Arch border crossing, saying he will triple the amount
[10:29] Speaker 1: of U.S. healthcare workers coming into British Columbia with a
[10:32] Speaker 1: new $ 15 million investment in forgiving loans and paying moving
[10:37] Speaker 1: expenses for those American healthcare workers. Mostly, he used that
[10:42] Speaker 1: press conference to ramp up his rhetoric that the BC
[10:44] Speaker 1: conservatives want to turn bc into america junior that a
[10:49] Speaker 1: vote for them means privatized health care and that they
[10:52] Speaker 1: want to cower at the very thought of trump at
[10:54] Speaker 1: one point doing a little physical cowering routine at the
[10:58] Speaker 1: podium uh as long as well as various other insults
[11:02] Speaker 1: here's a clip of what he had to.
[11:03] Speaker 2: Say crucial moment who's going to uh uh represent them
[11:07] Speaker 2: in the choice they want to make about the direction
[11:10] Speaker 2: of this province working together building protecting our people standing
[11:14] Speaker 2: up to trump Or folding, put the liquor back on
[11:20] Speaker 2: the shelves, hope that Trump stays away, embrace his policies,
[11:29] Speaker 2: turn us into America Junior, refuse the $ 20 billion plus
[11:33] Speaker 2: investment to the federal government in our port just down
[11:35] Speaker 2: the road here. It's going to create jobs across the province.
[11:38] Speaker 2: That's the conservative vision.
[11:41] Speaker 1: The reference to the Conservatives wanting to put American booze
[11:44] Speaker 1: back on store shelves was accurate earlier this year. There
[11:47] Speaker 1: were some MLAs who came out and said they would
[11:49] Speaker 1: like to see that done to kind of appease the Americans,
[11:52] Speaker 1: a show of good faith in the negotiations. Since then,
[11:55] Speaker 1: there's been a couple leadership changes. And new leader Lorne
[11:59] Speaker 1: Dirksen out yesterday saying he will not put American booze
[12:04] Speaker 1: back on store shelves while there is a trade war
[12:07] Speaker 1: with the United States, repeating his calls that Trump is
[12:09] Speaker 1: a bully, trying to chip away at some of the
[12:12] Speaker 1: lines that the premier is using against the conservatives when
[12:16] Speaker 1: it comes to the Trump issue. I'm not sure if
[12:18] Speaker 1: it's going to stop Eby from saying these things, but
[12:21] Speaker 1: that is the conservative response. Another interesting early framing in
[12:26] Speaker 1: this election, like last night, Eby continues to use this
[12:30] Speaker 1: metaphor in his speeches, his first and his second so far,
[12:34] Speaker 1: on BC wildfires, saying that the summer wildfires in the
[12:38] Speaker 1: province are like Trump. They're spreading and through the province.
[12:41] Speaker 1: They're dangerous. You have to build fire breaks to stop them,
[12:45] Speaker 1: not walk away when you see the smoke. I'm not
[12:48] Speaker 1: sure why he hasn't got a bit more flack for
[12:49] Speaker 1: using a fire season that killed an 80-year-old woman and
[12:53] Speaker 1: burned down 500 structures as a metaphor and a campaign tool.
[12:58] Speaker 1: But late last night, some footage emerged of Lorne Dirksen,
[13:02] Speaker 1: the interim leader, in his riding in Caribou Chilcotin during
[13:05] Speaker 1: his first term in office after a 2020 and global
[13:10] Speaker 1: cameras had caught up with him at a fire line
[13:13] Speaker 1: where he'd gone to check out the fire as an MLA,
[13:16] Speaker 1: saw it was short-staffed, grabbed a hose, and ended up
[13:19] Speaker 1: out in the bush fighting the fire while the cameras
[13:22] Speaker 1: were interviewing him. Craftily, the conservative campaign was pushing out
[13:27] Speaker 1: social media graphics last night saying, Lorne fights fires, EB
[13:32] Speaker 1: uses them for campaign metaphors, which was a kind of...
[13:36] Speaker 1: creative bit of crafting there to try and push back
[13:39] Speaker 1: on the Premier's speech. We'll see how successful that is
[13:43] Speaker 1: from the Conservatives. Their one advantage at this point is
[13:47] Speaker 1: because Lorne Dirksen is a relative unknown. There is a
[13:51] Speaker 1: time here, a consequential time, to paint an image of
[13:55] Speaker 1: him for voters who are going to get to know him,
[13:57] Speaker 1: get a sniff test of him. And the Conservatives are
[13:59] Speaker 1: trying hard to point him as a salt of earth.
[14:01] Speaker 1: Everybody likes him, getting his hands dirty, working in his riding.
[14:06] Speaker 1: honest kind of down-to-earth guy, and the conservatives and the
[14:10] Speaker 1: NDP are saying he's just another conservative leader who wants
[14:13] Speaker 1: to give in to Trump, has radical policies, mega-style politics,
[14:19] Speaker 1: and would bring culture wars to the province. So we'll
[14:22] Speaker 1: see which one of those framings begins to catch on
[14:26] Speaker 1: in the early days of the campaign. I imagine we
[14:28] Speaker 1: will see more aggressive work from the conservatives when their
[14:31] Speaker 1: actual tour campaign with Dirksen begins next. this weekend all
[14:37] Speaker 1: right that is catching you up to speed with what
[14:39] Speaker 1: you need to know this morning as always busy times
[14:42] Speaker 1: in bc politics as the morning gets going the campaigns
[14:45] Speaker 1: will get going the news will start flying i'll gather
[14:48] Speaker 1: it all up and i'll bring it to you and
[14:50] Speaker 1: more tomorrow on political capital daily make sure you subscribe
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[14:59] Speaker 1: also find me on Instagram at Rob Shaw News doing
[15:02] Speaker 1: some videos there as well. So check out those fun
[15:04] Speaker 1: videos in the day and make sure you subscribe for
[15:07] Speaker 1: Political Capital Prime on Fridays as well. We'll see you tomorrow.
[15:11] Speaker 1: Take care.

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