Independent candidate shared former premier’s HST opposition

Independent provincial election candidate Mischa Popoff has secured the endorsement of former Social Credit Premier Bill Vander Zalm in Boundary-Similkameen.

Popoff was nominated as the BC Conservative candidate, but the party dropped him April 25 over past comments Popoff made about single mothers. Popoff is now running as an independent.

“I’ve been watching Mischa Popoff’s campaign for MLA of Canada’s most desirable constituency, the Boundary-Similkameen,” Vander Zalm said in a statement Friday. “I’m confident the constituents of this riding appreciate a candidate who says what he believes and stands for, who represents voters and is not subject to party dictates. Popoff has my endorsement and every wish for success in the upcoming provincial election.”

Vander Zalm was BC premier from 1986 to 1991. He also led a successful grassroots campaign in 2009-10 to rescind the harmonized sales tax (HST).

Popoff also secured the endorsement of anti-HST campaigner Chris Delaney.

Popoff said he’s known Vander Zalm for some time and asked the former premier for an endorsement. He said the only other independent candidate Vander Zalm has endorsed is Sal Vetro, running as leader under the BC First banner in Vancouver-False Creek.

Popoff said his opposition to the HST was probably “a big part of” why Vander Zalm endorsed him, but he added that the two men share views on other issues such as opposition to the carbon tax and belief in the importance of rural parts of the province.

The independent candidate said he’s received a number of calls of support since the Vander Zalm endorsement.

Much of Popoff’s canvassing has been going farm to farm in rural areas, he said. His message to farmers is that even when they had a government MLA with John Slater, Slater hit a brick wall when he took their concerns to the Ministry of Agriculture.

“I’ll be on the outside, I’ll be an independent, but I’ll be banging my fist,” said Popoff.

Campaign signs for Popoff were printed when he was still the Conservative candidate, and he’s had to cover them with a sticker branding him as an independent.

At some doors, Popoff said people tell him he’s splitting the vote.

“My answer is if Christy Clark and her Liberals are that fragile politically that you can’t even send one independent to Victoria to raise hell, then they deserve to lose,” Popoff said.

Richard McGuire
Special to the Chronicle