Mike Harcourt: Every elected representative in B.C. should be concerned about how many voters stayed home

The Oct. 17 and Oct. 24, B.C. elections clearly showed that voters were unhappy with the status quo.

Before anyone claims a sweeping mandate, all parties should study the numbers carefully. Elections B.C.’s preliminary count shows the Conservatives with more than 48,400 fewer votes than their final total in 2024, despite winning a majority. The NDP’s vote is down more than 273,700 — about 29 per cent — while the Greens have gained more than 23,500 votes and are leading in two seats. Turnout stands at 48.14 per cent, compared with 58.45 per cent in 2024. Mail-in and other absentee ballots remain to be counted, but the results so far give every party reason for humility.

There is little room for triumphalism in those figures. Every party has reason for humility, and every elected representative should be concerned about how many British Columbians stayed home.

The new municipal governments, the Conservative government in Victoria and the Opposition NDP are all on trial. Their job now is to listen carefully and deliver the practical improvements long-suffering voters have been demanding.

In the cities: fair taxes, assured public safety, faster and better delivery of services, speedier implementation of affordable housing, child care, transit improvements, and better citizen engagement.

In the legislature: The new government in Victoria must effectively address and reduce the operating deficit, carry out the campaign promise of a $1,000 tax cut, ensure private property is protected, improve public safety, foster a better business environment, add measures to encourage business investment and wealth creation, offer readily available detox and addiction treatment services, maintain improvements to health care, increase access to health professionals, build more schools, and improve public transit and highways.

The Opposition NDP also has a challenge: to effectively keep the government accountable and on its toes. Plus, in a year and a half or so, choose a new moderate, populist leader who listens to people, seeks advice and takes it.

Armed with his own extensive to-do list, Prime Minister Mark Carney has shown the way — telling citizens what he is going to do to buffer Canadians from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, bullying and threats by diversifying our trade, helping to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers, building a massive infrastructure program, and encouraging wealth creation and foreign investment. At the major investors’ conference in Toronto in mid-September, he highlighted 165 projects needing $1 trillion in public and private investment.

Premiers such as Wab Kinew in Manitoba and Scott Moe in Saskatchewan are also leading the way in helping the PM protect citizens, increase wealth and build infrastructure.

All of these challenges and solutions are part of a larger issue — the ongoing struggle between autocrats, like Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and democrats.