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Back in April, John Rustad told KelownaNow he was planning to ask all his candidates, “on day one of the election,” to take a pledge: that their number one priority would be their riding.
“The party comes second,” he said, even though that will “create challenges.”
“I think people are sick and tired of electing a representative of a party to the riding, and what they should be electing is a representative of the riding to the party and the province,” the BC Conservative leader explained.
Fast forward six months, with just over a week until the election, and he is being accused of abandoning that position.
Last Friday, Rustad, whose party has gone from outsider status to tying with the governing BC NDP in the polls, came to Kelowna to talk childcare.
After a brief announcement, he took questions from journalists who had called in on the phone and, despite an attempt by his press secretary to end the event without hearing from local reporters, he also took a couple of questions from the journalists in the room with him.
One of those questions – about whether his candidates in the Central Okanagan have been told to avoid interviews with the media – might have surprised the Rustad of half a year ago.
He was forthright in his response: “It certainly isn’t” the case that candidates have been told to duck interviews. Instead, they “are free to decide what they want to do in terms of how they want to fight the campaign.”
Increasingly, however, that claim is coming under scrutiny.
Three of the party’s four candidates in the Central Okanagan (all but Gavin Dew) have refused requests for election interviews with NowMedia, as well as other outlets in the region, though Kelowna Centre’s Kristina Loewen and West Kelowna–Peachland’s Macklin McCall did speak with Kent Molgat in the winter after being selected by the party. The trio, which includes Kelowna–Lake Country–Coldstream candidate Tara Armstrong, also recently took some flak for declining invitations to appear at local forums. Some of the candidates in question have previously told NowMedia they are prioritizing doorknocking, something Rustad has also said.
The NDP, meanwhile, has identified an opportunity to get in on the action themselves, with the party – itself often questioned about its commitment to transparency – accusing Rustad and the Conservatives of “dodging basic questions,” highlighting an incident on Tuesday during which a journalist was cut off while trying to ask a question.
In an attempt to understand the approach adopted by the Conservatives, NowMedia has spoken with several people in the Central Okanagan who have knowledge of political campaigning, including a candidate hoping to be elected on Oct. 19.
‘Media is mattering less and less’
Despite his relative youth, Adam Wilson is something of a political veteran in the region. He managed the election campaign of Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas in 2022, ran for the BC United nomination in Kelowna–Lake Country–Coldstream last year and served as the deputy campaign manager for the Official Opposition until Kevin Falcon made a deal with the Conservatives in August.
In an interview with NowMedia, he offered his professional assessment of the Conservatives’ campaign, including what could be some bitter pills for journalists to swallow.
“I've been sensing for the last couple years – even when I managed Tom's campaign, and even previously on Tracy Gray's campaigns – that the media is mattering less and less,” he explained.
“I lay the blame at the hands of the fact that you can't share news on Facebook anymore. That was where the bulk of people got their information. And then with that being eliminated, the average person just isn't getting local news the same way.”
Despite the media’s diminished importance, however, Wilson said that a candidate could still “screw up a provincial campaign by giving a bad interview in Kelowna.” As a consequence – and since pollsters have generally predicted the Conservatives will triumph in the Central Okanagan anyway – Wilson said the “old saying” in politics comes to mind: “If you're in first, then all you have is something to lose.”
“You're going to win the seat anyways, so why bother speaking to the media?” he added, though his own view is that, even for favoured candidates, interviews are “the best thing for the community.” And if you have “good candidates,” Wilson reckons, the more attention from the press the better.
“If you have bad policies and bad candidates, then, yeah, maybe you don't want to stand up to that scrutiny,” he added.
Assuming victory in the Central Okanagan might not be so wise for the Conservatives, however. “I think they might be a bit ill-informed in terms of their chances, given some of the independent things that are going on,” Wilson said, referring to the former BC United candidates who have decided to go it alone.
Another reason the candidates could be adopting an aloof approach to the media is that, according to Wilson, a “subset of the population” believes “very strongly” that the press is biased against conservatives.
That’s a complaint frequently heard across Canada and much of the democratic world, particularly in the United States. Wilson doesn’t think that view is held by a majority of people, but adds: “They're always the most vocal.”
“So I think for some of these candidates, they're thinking that, Okay, well, me not doing this interview will make those people happy,” he explained.
As for the NDP attempting to highlight the Conservatives’ media strategy in their own campaigning – part of what he calls the party’s bid to paint the Conservatives as “extremists or out of the mainstream” – Wilson said it’s “part of the irony.”
“Politicians avoid the media all the time,” he said. “But where we don't often see it is during an election. Sometimes they will disappear during their mandate, but they'll pop back up right before an election and start giving way more interviews than they normally would because they want that attention.
“That's what makes this shift in the Conservative strategy unique for BC right now; we haven't [ever] seen that level of ignoring local media.”
Candidates running for other parties have also not replied to requests for interviews from NowMedia, including the Greens’ Billy Young in Kelowna–Mission, though Wilson, as well as independent candidate Stephen Johnston, calls these “paper candidates.” Health Minister Adrian Dix, meanwhile, has, over a period of several months, refused, or not replied to, numerous requests for an interview.
‘They’ve just got bigger fish to fry’
Politicians might also choose to ignore the media because, in close elections, it can often be far more important for a candidate to appeal to those who are already likely to support them, rather than seeking to win people over.
Such politicians are “primarily focused” on their supporters, “trying to find out where they [are] and then making personal contact with them,” John Bessai, a political science professor at Okanagan College, said.
He pointed to Donald Trump – after acknowledging he realizes that many people find US politics “tiresome” – as a way to highlight this strategy.
“Campaigns [such as Trump’s] may be less concerned with persuading undecided or moderate voters and more focused on mobilizing their existing supporters,” he said. “Sometimes a lot of people, they're flummoxed by why Trump says things that obviously, for a lot of people, are very controversial … But what I think Trump is constantly doing, for better or for worse, is focusing on base mobilization.”
Such a strategy, which can include keeping a distance from the media, can also prove highly effective, though it’s not necessarily “good for democracy.” Bessai points to Trump’s victory in the most recent Republican primaries, which came despite his refusal to participate in debates. Vice President Kamala Harris has also been accused of keeping her distance from the media.
There could also be a far less exciting explanation for a media-dodging strategy, however.
“Arguably, what some campaigns are doing is, they're looking at the amount of time that they have, especially during primetime hours, say between 6 pm to 8 pm or 8:30 pm … And what they want to do is they really want to be in front of people that they think are going to vote for [them],” he said. In that case, it’s simply a matter of “resources.”
Some parties, meanwhile, “don't really see the advantage of some of these forums because they think that they're organized by the opposition or they don't think there's much to be gained. So they're not going to sacrifice their chances of getting in front of people that probably will, or might strongly, vote for them for the sake of a kind of public relations thing.”
“You know, they’ve just got bigger fish to fry, right?” he added.
It’s also important to note, Bessai said, that when it comes to debates and similar events, the “time has passed” where they are “centrally important” to elections.
“In the 19th century, in the United States in particular, and in Canada, debates were basically the only real way of getting the message out,” he explained. “And they were very long affairs. The quality of someone's debating skills really did determine whether they were going to be elected or not, and people would sit at these things for hours, and they would listen passionately.”
‘Very disrespectful to the electorate’
While Bessai, and now Wilson, are on the outside looking in when it comes to the Oct. 19 election, Stephen Johnston is not. After being shocked by Falcon’s decision to suspend the BC United campaign, he waited for a “tap on the shoulders” from Rustad’s Conservatives that never came. In the end, he decided to go it alone.
He also found himself alone, both literally and metaphorically, last week, when his rivals in the NDP and Conservatives failed to show up to the Greater Westside Board of Trade’s candidates’ forum.
Speaking to NowMedia, he said he wasn’t “impressed.”
“I think it's incredibly alarming,” he said. He added: “Both candidates, Conservative and NDP, haven't turned up to much of anything this entire campaign. And I've heard people make excuses for them, saying, Well, it's tough to talk to the media and it's hard these days. Maybe they get surprised by a question and it's not really fair.
“I said, Well, so what's your expectation, then? That they would continue to not do that after they're elected? Because really what you're talking about there is this complete lack of accountability and transparency in government.”
Johnston, who spoke to NowMedia on Tuesday, is another relatively young political figure with a lot of experience. He has served as a councillor in West Kelowna for more than six years, and ran a close second in the 2014 mayoral election in that city.
“I could not imagine being a new candidate, which several of these are – they're untested, unproven, they have no track record in the community at all – I could not imagine not showing up for things when I ran for mayor, and even pulling 100 votes,” he said. “It just wouldn’t have been acceptable.”
Johnston said it’s “an unbelievable thing we’re experiencing right now,” and “very disrespectful to the electorate.” But he added: “I mean, if I was the campaign manager [of the BC Conservatives], I would say, Don't be seen. Don't be heard. Just ride the coattails of the federal Conservatives. And that's what a lot of them are doing.”
For all that, though, Johnston said he’s “not a fan of where the NDP has taken our province and they need to go.” Rustad, he added, “is going to be the premier” – but he thinks BC would be better served if he led a minority government.
“A Conservative Party that hasn't elected an MLA in 50 years or formed government in over 70 doesn't deserve a blank chequebook and keys to the kingdom with a majority government,” he said, adding that it would be better were there “accountability” and “checks and balances.”
He thinks, naturally, that he and the other independents that were vetted by BC United would be excellently positioned to make sure that happens. “We offer the change that people are looking for, plus the accountability and the transparency,” he said, rubbishing what he calls the “vote-splitting narrative” which, he says, is partly based on polling that shows – or merely implies – that the BC Conservatives are ahead in the Central Okanagan.
Some polls have “completely ignored independent candidates,” he added, creating an inaccurate impression of the reality on the ground in the likes of West Kelowna–Peachland.
As for his decision to stand as an independent, Johnston said he’s “really happy” about it. “Political parties carry with them agendas that don't really allow candidates to speak freely, to advocate for their community in a way that is open and honest,” he said. As an independent, he can “advocate freely and openly, vote my conscience on every issue.” He added: “I don't think we could reasonably think that the Conservatives will allow that when many of their candidates won't speak as it is.”
‘They know they're going to get elected if they don't say anything stupid’
The fourth person NowMedia interviewed for this story – Alexandra Wright – couldn’t possibly be considered a neutral party, having been removed as a Conservative candidate in August. She is also suing the party, though that matter is yet to be heard in court.
Wright, though, does have insight into the party and how it changed from what she calls its “very grassroots” beginnings when she joined to its more professionalized state today.
She said the party “started bringing consultants in” around February and March. After that, “there was definitely a shift in what candidates were allowed to say and do.”
“As soon as they realized that they had a shot at forming government, they locked it down and they didn't want anybody to be going off-script or saying anything that wasn't approved by the party,” she explained.
Wright said that, during her time as the candidate for Kelowna–Mission, she was never told to avoid interviews. But she said she was told not to publish a podcast because “the party didn’t approve of some of the things I’d said in it.”
“I know that they're super paranoid as a party about anything being taped and used against them,” she added.
That is perhaps unsurprising, given BC United’s, and the NDP’s, focus on the sayings and doings of the Conservatives’ candidates. Before he suspended his party’s campaign, Falcon frequently attacked Rustad’s team, claiming the Conservatives had assembled a “clown car of candidates.” Premier David Eby, meanwhile, has repeatedly brought up utterances made by Conservative candidates, while his media team regularly does the same thing.
Despite that, Wright said it's her assumption that the candidates in the Central Okanagan have in fact asked the party whether they can take part in events and been told no, which, if true, would be precisely the opposite of what Rustad claimed last week.
“In order to attend any event you have to obtain permission from the party, right?” she said. “You have to fill a form and submit it.”
Wright also corroborated what the Conservatives have said about knocking on doors, namely that the party prioritizes that brand of electioneering over interviews.
She claimed that one candidate – Armstrong – planned “all along” to “never be interviewed or talk to the media.” Instead, she wanted to speak to people “one-on-one.”
“They're just trying to protect themselves at this point, right?” she added. “Like, they know they're going to get elected if they don't say anything stupid.”
Wright has since retired from politics, telling NowMedia she feels “much better now” she’s moved on. She previously said she's backing independent candidate Ashley Ramsay in the Kelowna–Mission riding.
Her experience with the Conservatives, she explained, has left her “sad” and “disheartened.”
“I only obviously had a brief little glimpse into it, but what I saw was just so incredibly greasy and dirty. I honestly think we need to just change the whole system,” she said. “We need electoral reform, because it's set up to have this bipartisan system – whoever gets in you know is just going to keep on doing the same thing.”
NowMedia has invited all the candidates running in the Central Okanagan to be interviewed, either in our Kelowna studio or via video link.
The Conservative Party of British Columbia has been asked to comment on this story. The party has not responded.
The party was also asked a related question concerning the media on Oct. 4. The party has not responded.
None of the Conservative candidates invited for interviews with NowMedia, bar Dew, has responded.