FVC Weekend Edition—Does local election coverage still matter?

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Hey Insiders, it’s Tyler 👋 

As a local reporter trying to cover a provincial election in the 21st Century, one can get a bit nihilistic.

When many would vote for a rock adorned with the right-coloured pin, what’s even the point of this exercise in which we try to educate voters about their local candidates?

Over and over, provincial and federal election results and voting behaviour can lead a reporter to come to the conclusion that people don’t actually care who their local candidate is or what they believe. And if that’s the case, one might start to think it is a waste of time to write about those local candidates.

Now, I don’t think that’s really true. But before we get there, we have to consider why one could start to get a little pessimistic about this whole election-reporting business.

This year, the standard-bearer for the meaningless of local candidates is Brent Chapman, the Surrey Conservative candidate whose social media accounts were found to be filled with noxious comments. Chapman ended up easily winning his riding. (John Rustad said the comments didn’t reflect the Conservatives’ values, but refused to revoke Chapman’s position in the party.)

Elsewhere, we saw candidates win who, while largely uncontroversial, lacked the resumes and knowledge that one might hope for from an elected politician.

This isn’t exclusive to the Conservative party or 2024. The most obvious local example, for me, came in 2015 when the federal Liberal party ran a candidate in Abbotsford, Peter Njenga, who did no local campaigning, attended no all-candidates meetings, and was basically unheard of in the community. Njenga didn’t win, but he more than tripled the vote of the Liberal candidate who ran four years prior. A more-competent local Liberal candidate who ran in 2019 got 5,000 fewer votes.

We saw a similar phenomenon in 2017 when the NDP ran two parachute candidates in Abbotsford who did well, despite few knowing anything about them. In 2011, the NDP scored a major breakthrough in Quebec, with its candidates winning dozens of seats, even though some of those members had never set foot in the ridings for which they had become the elected representatives.

The lesson seems to be that the vast, vast majority of voters cast ballots based on the party or party leader and don’t give a fig about who their actual representative is in Ottawa or Victoria. The Chapman case suggests voters are even willing to cast a ballot for an odious figure, if it means supporting a party or leader they like—or ousting a party or leader they dislike.

All of this can call into question the point of local election coverage that focuses on individual candidates, and their views and backgrounds, rather than the activities and pronouncements of their party leaders. It can also be dispiriting for individual voters who do cast their ballots based on the individual names on a ballot.

But there is hope—and a reason to continue holding candidates responsible—in the chunk of voters who do care about individuals, and the impact they can actually have. Because they do exist. (I expect many of you Insider members count among them.)

• My thoughts on this are too extensive to cram into this single newsletter. You can find the rest of the piece here.

Onward!

The Insider Poll

Last week we asked: It's nearly as easy to get to Europe as the Maritimes, so many British Columbians (like Tyler) end up visiting Europe before Nova Scotia or PEI. Where have you been?

33%: Both (but I went to Europe first)

27%: Europe only

21%: Both (but I went to the maritimes first)

11%: Neither

8%:

One of you wrote: “Went to England and Amsterdam and Isreal for work, enjoyed all three. Went to the maritimes three times: first with Special Olympics and a proud father and then twice to PEI with my wife for pure pleasure. You can't find a more beautiful place to relax than PEI but my love of my home British Columbia can not be matched by any other place I have visited including the far east.”

Another wrote: ““We love visiting the Maritimes but the high cost of airfare makes Europe a better option. Our visits to the Maritimes are outnumbered seven to one by European trips.”

Today’s poll:

1. Election results

2. Abbotsford’s fields

3. More people, more buses

4. Halloween and pumpkins

5. Two centenarians on life

Here’s what’s happening this weekend

Only members have access to our weekly events story. You can find it in every Thursday newsletter. If you missed it then, you can find it below. And if you are organizing an event, use this form to tell us about it.

Upcoming

👀 Hope says 'non, merci’ to French suitor

👀 Your spooky stories

👀 How Agassiz is building it new pool

Catch up on this week’s newsletters

Did you miss a newsletter this week? Here you go!

• Monday: Election results / Aldergrove food security

• Tuesday: Abbotsford mayor on parks / Harrison’s marina sale / Agassiz rain

• Wednesday: FVX buses / Airshed education

• Thursday: Halloween / Pumpkin patches / Mission’s park restaurant

• Friday: History edition / Centenarians / Lytton’s hospital