babble is rabble.ca's discussion board but it's much more than that: it's an online community for folks who just won't shut up. It's a place to tell each other — and the world — what's up with our work and campaigns.
BC Election Predictions
May 13, 2013 - 10:02pm
...
the BCNDP will win big - Ebby wins in Point Grey.
FWIW, here's mine.
Popular vote: NDP 44, Liberal 38, Green 8, Conservative 6, Others 4
Seats: NDP 49, Liberal 34, Independents 2.
NDP gains: Boundary-Similkameen (from Independent), Burnaby-Lougheed, Burnaby North, Cariboo-Chilcotin, Comox Valley, Kamloops-North Thompson, Maple Ridge-Mission, North Vancouver-Lonsdale, Saanich North and the Islands, Surrey-Panorama, Surrey-Tynehead, Vancouver-Fairview, Vancouver-Fraserview, Vancouver-Point Grey (all from Liberals)
Liberal gains: Abbotsford South, Cariboo North (both from Independent), Chilliwack-Hope (from NDP)
Independent gain: Peace River North (from Liberal)
Here's my prediction:
53 – NDP
31 – Liberal
01 – Independent
Abbotsford South – Liberal
Abbotsford West – Liberal
Abbotsford—Mission – Liberal
Alberni—Pacific Rim – NDP
Boundary—Similkameen – NDP
Burnaby North – NDP
Burnaby—Deer Lake – NDP
Burnaby—Edmonds – NDP
Burnaby—Lougheed – NDP
Cariboo North – NDP
Cariboo—Chilcotin – NDP
Chilliwack – Liberal
Chilliwack—Hope – Liberal
Columbia River—Revelstoke – NDP
Comox Valley – NDP
Coquitlam—Burke Mountain – NDP
Coquitlam—Maillardville – NDP
Cowichan Valley – NDP
Delta North – NDP
Delta South – Independent
Esquimalt—Royal Roads – NDP
Fort Langley—Aldergrove – Liberal
Fraser—Nicola – NDP
Juan de Fuca – NDP
Kamloops—North Thompson – NDP
Kamloops—South Thompson – NDP
Kelowna—Lake Country – Liberal
Kelowna—Mission – Liberal
Kootenay East – Liberal
Kootenay—West – NDP
Langley – Liberal
Maple Ridge-Mission – NDP
Maple Ridge—Pitt Meadows – NDP
Nanaimo – NDP
Nanaimo—North Cowichan – NDP
Nechako Lakes – Liberal
Nelson—Creston – NDP
New Westminster – NDP
North Coast – NDP
North Island – NDP
North Vancouver—Lonsdale – NDP
North Vancouver—Seymour – Liberal
Oak Bay—Gordon Head – Liberal
Parksville—Qualicum – Liberal
Peace River North – Liberal
Peace River South – Liberal
Penticton – Liberal
Port Coquitlam – NDP
Port Moody—Coquitlam – NDP
Powell River—Sunshine Coast – NDP
Prince George—Mackenzie – NDP
Prince George—Valemount – Liberal
Richmond Centre – Liberal
Richmond East – Liberal
Richmond Steveston – Liberal
Saanich North and the Islands – NDP
Saanich South – NDP
Sushwap – Liberal
Skeena – NDP
Stikine – NDP
Surrey—Cloverdale – Liberal
Surrey—Fleetwood – NDP
Surrey—Green Timbers – NDP
Surrey—Newton – NDP
Surrey—Panorama – NDP
Surrey—Tynehead – NDP
Surrey—Whalley – NDP
Surrey—White Rock – Liberal
Vancouver—Fairview – NDP
Vancouver—False Creek – Liberal
Vancouver—Fraserview – NDP
Vancouver—Hastings – NDP
Vancouver—Kensington – NDP
Vancouver—Kingsway – NDP
Vancouver—Langara – Liberal
Vancouver—Mount Pleasant – NDP
Vancouver—Point Grey – NDP
Vancouver—Quilchena – Liberal
Vancouver—West End – NDP
Vernon—Monashee – Liberal
Victoria—Beacon Hill – NDP
Victoria—Swan Lake – NDP
West Vancouver—Capilano – Liberal
West Vancouver—Sea to Sky – Liberal
Westside—Kelowna – Liberal
Not too much to argue with there, Left Turn. The only ones we disagree on are Cariboo North, Coquitlam-Burke Mountain, Kamloops-South Thompson, Peace River North and Prince George-Mackenzie. These will all be squeakers and could easily go either way.
I live in Vancouver-False Creek, and sadly I do not think that it will be particularly close here. I find it a bit ironic that the NDP will likely win in ridings like Fairview and even Point Grey but not False Creek. (For that matter, even Langara might be a closer result.) Unfortunately, I think the NDP has written this area off, which is a shame because I think there is real potential for the NDP if they just put some effort into this seat.
I also (sadly) have to agree with Left Turn's call of a win for Ida Chong in Oak Bay-Gordon Head. Ida seems to be the 'Hedy Fry' of provincial politics - every election people predict her defeat, and yet she manages to hang on. This time, a combination of a strong Green campaign which will split the non-Liberal vote, plus the changing demographics of the riding, will deliver a narrow win to Chong (interestingly, these are pretty much the same factors that let Fry win the last few elections).
I'm curious as to the predictions of Chiliwack-Hope to fall into the Liberal category? Yes, I know the NDP doesn't have much traditional presence there, but the current MLA won a by-election with a higher percentage of the popular vote than the NDP typically receives, and she also has incumbent advantage. Plus, why would it make sense for the BC Liberals to try and unseat her when they are losing larger numbers of seats elsewhere?
I'm in Victoria - Beacon Hill. Is it safe to vote Green? I really want to support them but I'd just croak if I thought my vote would help the Liberals.
@Aristotle - governments typically fare poorly in by-elections (particularly in BC), and there was quite a low turn-out. As you note, Chilliwack-Hope has no real NDP history - based on their past track record, they probably have a better chance in Chilliwack. The Liberals were polling in the mid-20s when the by-election happened, just barely ahead of the Conservative, and there were real doubt about whether they would survive as the "free enterprise party" until a general election. Now they are doing at least 10 points better and the non-NDP vote is coalescing around them. The Conservative candidate in the by-election collected 25% of the vote. Ironically, he is now running as a Liberal in neighbouring Chilliwack. Most of that vote can reasonably be expected to migrate to the Liberals. Gwen O'Mahony hasn't been in office long enough to establish much of an 'incumbency advantage'. Add it all up and it is much more likely that Laurie Throness will win this time.
@Francesca - the Liberals have no realistic chance to win Victoria-Beacon Hill (they only collected about 25% of the vote last time when their province-wide vote was 46%), so you are probably safe to vote Green there. I am curious as to why you are more inclined to vote Green than NDP - is there a particular issue that, in your view, sets them apart? (I am not looking for a flame war here, I am genuinely curious.)
ETA: Jane Sterk running against Carole James in Beacon Hill stikes me as a pretty boneheaded move from a strategy perspective. Shades of Elizabeth May taking on Peter MacKay in a hopeless battle in Central Nova in 2008, whereas if she had run in Saanich-Gulf Islands that election she would have most certainly won easily. Sterk would have had a good chance at winning a seat in the Legislature had she run in Oak Bay-Gordon Head or Saanich North and the Islands, but this is a real head-scratcher from a strategic perspective.
We'll see. I would like to see Chong lose, but it depends on where the Green votes are coming from. I think Left Turn called the Kelowna seats for the Liberals, which is the probable outcome. Whether Gwen O'Mahony hangs on in Chilliwack-Hope depends on how well the Conservatives do. They finished a relatively strong third in the by-election and I can't see them doing as well given their collapse since then, and the Liberals only have ten percentage points to pick up. Parksville-Qualicum could go NDP. Barry Avis was a popular town councillor in Qualicum Beach, although I agree Parksville and the extreme North end of Nanaimo are not exactly fertile ground. There is no Green Candidate there, which helps Avis, and several prominent greens are supporting him.
ghoris, the Greens have a very progressive stance on mental health. They would seek to amend our provincial legislation to get into line with our Canadian Charter. I am passionately interested in psychiatric rights and am genuinely thrilled about this.
I may have misread, but I think LT originally called both Kelowna seats for the NDP and then amended his prediction from 55 NDP seats to 53 (changing the Kelowna seats to the Liberals). I have amended my comments reflect that.
Parksville could very well go NDP, but then again Comox Valley could very well go Liberal, so it's probably a wash in terms of trying to predict the seat count.
Re: Oak Bay - I hope I am wrong, but given the strong showing of the Greens in the federal Victoria by-election (sidebar: the Green candidate was my Torts prof at UVic Law), and what I am hearing from people on the ground, I think the Greens will do well enough to let Chong win with something like 30% of the vote. I strongly suspect that the Greens take a significantly higher percentage of votes from the provincial NDP than they do the Liberals, although federally it might be a different story.
Chong can't win with 30% of the vote unless the Conservatives get at least 10% (there are only four candidates). Given the last Angus Reid poll had the NDP at 46% on the Island to the Liberals at 28%, the Greens at 16% and the Conservatives at 9%, the Liberals and Greens will be hard pressed to win any seats between them. That may also allow people to feel safe voting Green though, both in constituencies where the NDP is a lock and also where the Greens have a decent shot at winning.
Popular Vote:
NDP 46-ish% (61)
Liberal 34-ish% (23) I was really hoping for less, but I'll be both generous and realistic. I think the closer polls, realism, pessimism with the government and only partial slates between the Greens and Conservatives will combine to push the NDP up and the third parties down.
Green 9-ish% (0)
Conservative 8-ish% (0)
Other 3-ish% (1 Independent)
Be sure to tune in tommorow at some point (between 9-5 ;)) for an exciting seat by seat analysis based on my yet to be debuted but far better than Nate Silver and Eric Grenier combined, scientific seat projection model. BTW, I will remind people that I managed to guess the 2005 right on the nose seat-wise [on second thought I'd prefer not to link to my young, stupid self] so I'm clearly some sort of guru. Though if I was really a guru I'd hope for an NDP vote over 50% and a Liberal seat count below 4.
I accidentally typed NDP instead of Liberal next to two of the Kelowna seats. Looking over the post after I'd typed it, I caught the error and made the change. I don't see any chance of the Kelowna seats going NDP.
I think the msm are way overinflating Andrew Weaver's chances in Oak-Bay Gordon Head in order to split the anti-Liberal vote and let Ida Chong win. I predict this riding will be a fairly close Lib-NDP fight, with the greens being reasonably far behind in third, albeit with a higher percentage of the votes than if the msm were not pumping up the green's chances there. If the msm were not pumping up the green in Oak Bay-Gordon Head, I'd predict an NDP win.
55 - NDP, 29 - Lib, 1 - Ind.
LT's seat breakdown looks good to me. The only two seats that I would switch to the NDP column are Oak Bay - Gordon Head, and Parksville - Qualicum.
As far as Jane Sterk choosing Beacon Hill, I seem to recall that her choice to parachute into this riding was at the time Carole was forced out as leader of the party. Carole had not yet announced her future intentions of continueing on in the NDP. Jane thought she would be landing in a riding that would have had a new NDP candidate. It was a clear opportunitstic political move for Jane and the Greens that back fired on her.
NDP - 46 seats - 46%
BCL - 37 seats - 41%
GRN - 1 seat - 7%
CON - 0 seats - 4%
OTH - 1 seat - 2%
Francesa, the Liberals haven't won more than 30% of the vote in Victoria-Beacon Hill since the 2001 landslide. There's zero risk of the Liberals coming up the middle to take that riding. I wouldn't put my money on Sterk winning that riding, but the polling stations in that area did go Green during the federal by-election in Victoria.
Change of thread for those wanting to comment on BC Election Day: reactions, results, and everything else.
I still believe Surrey Newton and Surrey Panorama are too close to call
Some people are suggesting you are safe to vote Green, however, BC Icoclastic suggested that this is a close race between the Green and NDP (Carol James), so perhaps you should vote NDP to be on the safe side: http://bciconcoclast.blogspot.ca/p/my-prediction-of-2013-election.html
If it is a close race between the NDP and Greens then it will not help the Liberals if she votes for either party. If she wants to see Greens elected then why should she vote NDP?
My thoughts exactly. I have to make a decision now because I'm off to vote in about an hour.
Sounds like voting for the Greens is a good bet if you want to see them elected, Francesca. In fact, it's a perfect riding for a Green voter!
It's a stretch to think that the Greens could be as high as 45% and the Liberals as low as 10% in this constituency. In the Victoria federal by-election the combined Liberal and Conservative vote was around 27%. The other CP (Communists) are running, not the Conservatives. I think Sterk will finish a distant second, as James is just too popular.
NDP-49
Liberals-33
Con-1
Ind-1
Grn-1
(won't make a popular vote prediction, but think it's possible that the BCNDP could repeat the 1991 result of winning with a lower share of the popular vote than they received losing the previous election).
The Greens could have done far better if they'd taken up the cause of the poor, the homeless, and the forgotten working-class...treating them as the endangered human species they are...but, instead, Les Bleu-Vertes drank the mainstream koolaid and focused solely on "the middle class" like the other parties did. A wasted opportunity for them and, hopefully, the end of Sterk as their leader.
I want to call an even 50 for the NDP, based on no reason. I want to call 1 Green MLA out of sympathy, and 1 Independent because everyone else is. I guess that makes the Liberals left with 34?
Consider yourselves predicted.
57 - NDP
27 - Green
1 - Ind.
My predication is that poor will continue to suffer as always, doesn’t matter which party that is elected.
This was not intended as snerk (do you mean snark), just more information and opinion. If Francesca wants to vote Green that's her business. I don't think the Greens will be as high as 45% and the Liberals as low as 10%. The Greens could take it if they get 40%, the NDP 35%, the Liberals 24% and the CP 1%, but I don't think that will happen.
As an NDP supporter (who lives in Manitoba) my advice is that if you feel that strongly about voting for the Greens, then just vote Green and don't worry about whether or not it is safe to do so. At the end of the day, the parties are there to represent you, and you need to pick what is your best fit. Perhaps the NDP will see the Green vote and adopt some of the Green policies you really like. Perhaps the NDP will ignore those policies, in which case the Greens may eventually get in on their own and change the policy. I say this as someone who in the past 2 federal elections, voted NDP even though my area is a Liberal-Conservative race and that helping out the Liberals could have made a difference to the outcome, because I believe that strongly in what the NDP represents.