Federal Election Day: Conservatives eyeing more seats in northern B.C., Okanagan
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It's election day across Canada and B.C. residents across the province are heading to the polls to choose new MPs to represent them in a number of ridings.
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For information on how to cast your vote in your riding, click HERE. You can also look up which candidates are running in your riding using our database HERE.
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The 10 ridings that make up the B.C. north and Interior are mostly Conservative bastions with the exception of two ridings held by the NDP.
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But with polls predicting a nationwide collapse of Jagmeet Singh's party, those two seats could be up for grabs.
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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was the only party leader to campaign in the Northern and Interior communities, making stops in Penticton, Osoyoos, and Terrace — an indication of the party's hopes.
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The Conservatives are hoping to pick up the riding of Skeena-Bulkley, in northwest B.C. The region has been an NDP stronghold since it was formed in 2006, held first by Nathan Cullen and, since 2019, by Taylor Bachrach.
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Bachrach is facing stiff competition from Conservative candidate Ellis Ross, a former Haisla Nation chief councillor and former provincial MLA for the region.
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Conservatives are also eyeing Similkameen-South Okanagan-West Kootenay, which had its boundaries redrawn to extend further west along the B.C.-U.S. border, an area that has historically leaned right.
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The old riding was held by NDP's Richard Cannings, who is not running in this election. Polls identify Conservative candidate Helena Konanz, a Penticton city councillor, as the front-runner. In the last election in 2021, Konanz placed second, with 35.5 per cent of the vote behind Cannings' 41 per cent.
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National Observer
an hour ago
- National Observer
Carney shows his hand on infrastructure and trade bill
Ever since June 6, when Prime Minister Mark Carney declared that he expects Bill C-5 to become law before summer break, one question has loomed over Parliament: How? It normally takes months for a bill to become law. Proposed legislation (which is what a bill is) must go through several readings and committees run by MPs and senators alike, who all call witnesses to weigh in on the pros and cons, which trigger amendments, which then require further deliberation, all before a final vote is cast. If that sounds slow, that's because it is — and it usually takes even longer in a minority government, where Opposition MPs make up a big portion of the committees and so, have ample opportunity to bog the process down. So how did Carney expect to whiz his signature policy through such a quagmire in a mere two or three weeks? But on Thursday, June 12 – one head-scratching week after Carney unveiled the bill – he dropped his cards: a special parliamentary order that would, if Parliament votes for it, condense the entire process into five days. The order's formal name is ' An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act.' Or as NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice calls it, a super-motion. '[It] will, if passed, speed up the debate and study of that bill in an incredible and scandalous way,' Boulerice said in a phone interview soon after the Act to Enact the Act was introduced. Parliament will vote on this super-motion on Friday. It requires a simple majority to pass. If that happens, a parliamentary committee will be formed next week and given just two days to scrutinize Bill C-5, plus make whatever amendments they can squeeze in. The bill will go through the final two readings and hit the floor next Friday, June 20, for a final vote. On that day, according to the terms of the super-motion, '[t]he House shall not adjourn until the proceedings on the bill have been completed.' Meaning, in other words, MPs are stuck in their seats until the bill either becomes law or dies. The procedural mystery behind the prime minister's plan to rush his treasured legislation has been unveiled. Now it's Parliament's play. All of that hinges on the super-motion. If that passes on June 13, Carney will almost certainly get his legislation by next weekend. 'It's really against the rights of parliamentarians,' Boulerice said. 'It's really anti-democratic. It's all the horrible things that a government can do to shut down debate and pass a really controversial project through the throats of the MPs and the general public and First Nations and environmental groups.' Two Acts in one Bill C-5 is really two bills in one, both named in the unwieldy title. The first part is about breaking down interprovincial barriers to trade and labour mobility, and is, in general, less controversial than the bill's second part: the 'Building Canada Act,' which would give cabinet the power to deem certain megaprojects (from pipelines and electricity grids to ports and high-speed rail) in the 'national interest,' which would then put them on a two-year fast track to federal approval. It's the second part that Boulerice, along with many environmental advocacy groups and Indigenous leaders, have deep misgivings about. ''National interest' is so vague that they can put whatever they want [on that list], and after that, guarantee the two years maximum. … Once it's on the list, it cannot be removed. It cannot be blocked or stopped by anybody – provinces, First Nations, citizens, cities. I think it's the dream of Stephen Harper coming true.' Indeed, Conservatives do appear to like the bill – the party's members, not known for their shyness about legislation they dislike, didn't once mention it or the super-motion to accelerate its passage, in Thursday's Question Period. What's less clear is whether they want to hand Carney the political gift of having his signature policy turned into law in such short order against such odds. The Conservative Party did not immediately respond to an inquiry about their plans. It's far from a done deal yet, however. Boulerice is in talks with the Bloc Quebecois, both of whom are busy scouring the 'really big book' of parliamentary procedure for tools that might at least put the brakes on the super-motion. 'We will try some obstruction procedures,' he said. In addition to motions that could slow the day down, Boulerice said they might try splitting Bill C-5 into two parts, allowing the first to rush through, while reserving the second part on 'national interest' projects for proper scrutiny.' In a best-case scenario for Boulerice, the NDP and Bloc will be able to stall voting on the super-motion until Monday. In that case, 'we'll gain some time to raise awareness' with the public, in the hopes of generating enough bad press that the bill becomes too toxic for Parliament to support. But the government is already working on getting its own message out. In a separate briefing about wildfires, several cabinet ministers were asked by reporters to explain the rush embodied by this super-motion. 'We're in a very difficult situation right now,' said Tim Hodgson, minister of energy and natural resources. 'We have a trade war that is affecting sector after sector after sector. Canadian jobs are at risk, Canadian livelihoods are at risk, and quite frankly, the prosperity of the country is at risk … to deal with this, we need to do things that we have not done in a long time, in time frames we have not done since the end of World War II. What we are doing is allowing for debate – I spent four hours last night in a committee of the whole. There is going to be the same sort of process in the Senate. It is important that we start moving, or we will find ourselves in an increasingly difficult situation.' Asked if the Liberals have spoken with Conservatives for a sense of whether they'll support this push, Hodgson said, 'I don't think it's appropriate to talk about the private conversations that are going on.' Mandy Gull-Masty, the minister of Indigenous services and a former Grand Chief of the Cree Nation government in Quebec, was also at that press conference. Asked if the government had addressed the question of First Nation consultation and support for this legislation, Gull-Masty said that in her view, Bill C-5 is 'not just critical for the Canadian economy, it's also critical for Indigenous people.' She said the prime minister has made himself personally available to Indigenous leaders across the country, and felt that Section 35, which enshrines Indigenous rights in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, along with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, are both embedded in the process. 'I think this is something that is unique to the One Canada Economy Bill, is that we're not just inviting Indigenous partnership to the table, we're actually asking them, 'What is your process of consultation, and how can we work with you in collaboration to carry out those steps?'' For now, it won't be Indigenous groups, or environmental advocates, or anyone but the MPs inside the House of Commons who decide whether Gull Masty's faith in her new party's good faith is warranted. And of those parliamentarians, it is now the Conservatives who hold the future of Carney's prized legislation in their hands. They could choose to gift it to him all at once, delay it until after summer, or withhold it altogether.
Vancouver Sun
2 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
'It's unacceptable': Brother of Jagmeet Singh says Canadians warned about risk to their life deserve protection
OTTAWA — The brother of former federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh says Canadians who receive a duty to warn about a threat against their life and safety should be provided protection, calling the lack of security 'unacceptable.' Gurratan Singh says the need for protection is 'paramount' and that the current situation results in people being left to 'fend for themselves.' 'It's unacceptable and an immediate step that must be given is security must be provided to those who are facing duty to warns from, especially, foreign governments.' Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'I think any single Canadian who gets a duty to warn deserves that security immediately.' Issues surrounding a duty to warn notification, a practice used by police to alert someone when it believes there to be a credible threat endangering them, have emerged in light of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to attend the G7 in Alberta next week. Sikh activists and community leaders have denounced Prime Minister Mark Carney's invitation to Modi as a betrayal of their community. They have pointed to the RCMP having said it has evidence showing links between violent crimes, such as murders and extortion, to the Indian government. Former prime minister Justin Trudeau also told the House of Commons in September 2023 that it had 'credible allegations' that agents acting on behalf of the Indian government were involved in the killing of prominent Sikh separatist and activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has denied the accusation, but had considered Nijjar, who advocated for an independent Sikh state to be created in India's Punjab province, to be a terrorist. Earlier on Thursday, Global News also reported, citing unnamed sources, that former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh had been surveilled by someone with ties to the Indian government, which resulted in the RCMP providing him protection. During the recent federal election campaign, Singh himself revealed that the RCMP warned him about a credible threat against his life in late 2023, which resulted in him and his family being placed under police protection. At the time, Singh's wife was pregnant with their second child, and the former party leader told reporters he was so concerned about the threat that he considered quitting politics. For Gurratan Singh, himself a former provincial member of Ontario's legislature, what happened to his brother underscores the need for Canada to hold India accountable for its targeting of Canadians, which the RCMP has stated has been shown by evidence. 'My brother was the previously democratically elected leader of the NDP, a national federal party in Canada. We now know that there's evidence that he was being surveilled by the Indian government, that his life was at risk by the Indian government and that the risk was so live that his daughter was born under the shadow of that risk in a hospital that had RCMP and security presence,' he said on Thursday. He said the impact of his brother receiving that notification was tough, as was seeing him accompanied by police detail 'It represents that your brother's life is at risk and those around him are at risk as well.' Balpreet Singh, legal counsel and spokesman for the World Sikh Organization, in a news conference on Thursday, called it 'unacceptable' that Jagmeet Singh now lacks this protection and that others who receive similar warnings from police are not provided security and receive minimal information. NDP Edmonton MP Heather McPherson told reporters she believes security should be offered to Singh. Interim NDP Leader Don Davies declined to comment on the matter, saying he was unsure of the specific details. Monninder Singh, spokesman for Sikh Federation Canada, says he has received multiple duty-to-warn notifications, as have 'well over' a dozen other Sikh Canadians and activists. As a father of young children, he said their family had to come up with a plan that included discussions with child and family services. At one point, Singh said he left their home and returned after five months. 'You move around constantly looking over your shoulder,' he said. 'Every aspect of your life changes. You can't go to your kids' school. You can't go to their practices. You can't go to family events. You avoid weddings, you avoid any type of family gatherings, public spaces.' National Post staylor@ Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here . Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here .
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
'It's unacceptable': Brother of Jagmeet Singh says Canadians warned about risk to their life deserve protection
OTTAWA — The brother of former federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh says Canadians who receive a duty to warn about a threat against their life and safety should be provided protection, calling the lack of security 'unacceptable.' Article content Gurratan Singh says the need for protection is 'paramount' and that the current situation results in people being left to 'fend for themselves.' Article content Article content Article content 'It's unacceptable and an immediate step that must be given is security must be provided to those who are facing duty to warns from, especially, foreign governments.' Article content Article content 'I think any single Canadian who gets a duty to warn deserves that security immediately.' Article content Issues surrounding a duty to warn notification, a practice used by police to alert someone when it believes there to be a credible threat endangering them, have emerged in light of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to attend the G7 in Alberta next week. Article content Sikh activists and community leaders have denounced Prime Minister Mark Carney's invitation to Modi as a betrayal of their community. Article content They have pointed to the RCMP having said it has evidence showing links between violent crimes, such as murders and extortion, to the Indian government. Article content Former prime minister Justin Trudeau also told the House of Commons in September 2023 that it had 'credible allegations' that agents acting on behalf of the Indian government were involved in the killing of prominent Sikh separatist and activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Article content Article content India has denied the accusation, but had considered Nijjar, who advocated for an independent Sikh state to be created in India's Punjab province, to be a terrorist. Article content Article content Earlier on Thursday, Global News also reported, citing unnamed sources, that former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh had been surveilled by someone with ties to the Indian government, which resulted in the RCMP providing him protection. Article content During the recent federal election campaign, Singh himself revealed that the RCMP warned him about a credible threat against his life in late 2023, which resulted in him and his family being placed under police protection. Article content At the time, Singh's wife was pregnant with their second child, and the former party leader told reporters he was so concerned about the threat that he considered quitting politics.
