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Vancouver — British Columbia liberals leaders are taking advantage of new parliamentary seats to “look straight at and ask tough questions” to NDP government leaders.
According to preliminary results, Kevin Falcon won 6,200 votes in the Vancouver-Kirkena by-election on Saturday’s landslide. That’s more than double the 2,590 votes of his closest challenger, NDP candidate Janet Ash.
The victory was expected at the home of the Liberal Party, represented by two former party leaders, Andrew Wilkinson and Gordon Campbell.
“Tonight, we received a great message from Vancouver-Kirkena voters, which is the end of the empty rhetoric and the time of the government to get results,” Falcon said at the party headquarters in downtown Vancouver. Told a crowd of supporters of. ..
The former cabinet minister has not had a say in the legislature since winning the party leadership in February.
He won the horseback in 2020, but fills the vacant seat by former liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson, who resigned to give way to Falcon to sit in Congress.
Falcon, 59, returned to politics after leaving 10 years ago, spending more time with his young family and working in the private sector at an investment and real estate development company in Vancouver.
After being first elected in 2001, he held numerous portfolios in the Cabinet, including transportation, health, finance, and deputy prime minister. Falcon finished second in the 2011 Leadership Contest and lost to Christie Clark, who was Prime Minister until his party lost power in 2017.
Falcon said in an interview that voters had raised concerns about home and fuel prices and lack of access to their doctors.
“We are really struggling to achieve our goals, and this government is doing nothing but tax increases and spending increases without any results,” he said.
Ash, a political scientist married to Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart, congratulated Falcon on his victory. She said she was proud that she focused on NDP campaigns and Falcon records.
She said her campaign was not a personal attack, but a scrutiny of the records of a former politician.
“His record was one of the deep and devastating reductions to healthcare, housing and education,” she said in an interview.
Green candidate Wendy Heiko was 10 percent, conservative Dallas Brody 7 percent, and libertarian Sandra Philosophe Skipper 1 percent.
The results of the British Columbia elections are not final, but Falcon said he expects to attend Congress before the end of the current legislative session.
His first job as an official opposition leader is to address the rhetoric and promise gaps offered in topics such as gas prices, housing costs, rents and taxes.
“I now have a seat in the legislature, trying to explain that the government is looking straight into their eyes and asking difficult questions. This is what I’m trying to do.”
Liberal politicians of the past and present said they were looking forward to seeing the Falcon in Congress.
“Hindsight is perfect,” said Wilkinson, who failed to lead the party to victory in the 2020 elections, but he provided advice and lessons only when requested.
He described the Falcon as a “very credible, very thoughtful” candidate and said he fully supported the new leader.
Trevor Halford, MLA of Sally White Rock, said Shirley Bond is a strong interim leader and is looking forward to Falcon’s transition to the official opposition leader.
“Kevin wants results, so he asks very direct and very difficult questions, and we’ll be there to support them in it.”
Green leader Sonia Furstenau said she hopes to continue working with the Caucus in a common position, such as the All-Party Health Commission, to address the crisis of drug addiction.
Amy smart
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