With a provincial election coming up this year, it seems like politicians want us to remember last year the way they do.
If we remember the recent past as being miserable, we’re more likely to vote for change. Whereas if we can appreciate everything as being peachy, there’s no desire to rock the boat.
As the Liberal Party and NDP both hope to win the upcoming election, they’re painting starkly different pictures of the recent past. The incumbent government wants us to remember 2016 as being glorious, while the opposition wants us to remember it as being gloomy.
“In many ways, 2016 was the year the country and the world took notice of what hard-working British Columbians are achieving by sticking to our plan,” Premier Christy Clark said. “Together, we have built a solid foundation with Canada’s leading economy, the best job-creation record and lowest unemployment in the country.”
Except that “2016 was a tough year for British Columbians,” according to NDP leader John Horgan. “The cost of living skyrocketed. One in seven children went to bed hungry. Wages stayed flat while more than half of B.C. families lived paycheque to paycheque.”
For the people who aren’t from B.C., the West Coast lifestyle and getting overwhelmed by massive mountains are experiences that transcend politics. This is probably the easier province to be happy in. But the grass is always greener on the other side.
When you look at how indebted B.C. is compared to Saskatchewan; how our illicit drug networks have significantly more fentanyl in them than any other province; or how we live in the only province that has to pay for health care – the NDP will be able to make a case that there’s room for improvement.
But the political landscape seemed pretty similar in 2013, and the NDP didn’t make a strong enough case amid many of the same issues. The teachers’ union and the school board can’t get along; the economists and environmentalists can’t agree over the best way to supply the world’s energy needs; and we still have the highest rate of child poverty in Canada.
Dan Walton, editor, Peachland View
