00:00:53.620Well, the reason Alex is here is because we're going to be talking about the BC Conservative Party heading into the last weeks of its leadership race.
00:01:02.960There was a debate just last night. Land acknowledgements at a BC Conservative leadership debate. Interesting stuff.
00:01:12.760We're going to talk about the state of that race. Maybe we can handicap it at this point. Who are the most likely guys to win?1.00
00:01:23.620We're going to talk about the University of Lethbridge
00:09:47.300And, you know, maybe once some of the details start coming out on what exactly is going to be what it's all about, maybe there'll be some opposition.
00:09:57.620But I think it's like Nigel said, it's just a racket.
00:10:01.480And this has got sponsorship scandal written all over it just to a much, much larger degree.
00:10:08.960You know, one of the things, Dave, that struck me about this, when you look at where the money is actually going,
00:10:15.840the amount that's going to pay interest that is now getting large that is uh it's going to be
00:10:24.560as a you can picture a rowing boat out on the lake it's going to be the kind of it's going to
00:10:30.560be the thing that's heavy that rolls around and starts to affect the movements of the boat this
00:10:36.320is this is very serious it was a clever idea to put the word out that we would be getting an 80
00:10:43.040billion uh a dollar deficit and then come back with one that was smaller there was oh that's
00:10:48.240good then this is actually huge deficit well the it but alex this isn't the first year you know
00:10:56.320it's not like just this year's deficit you know i i run a company here and if i have a deficit
00:11:03.920for one quarter you know that's dave i'm like god holy we're gonna we gotta do something and
00:11:09.840And we're either cutting expenses or we're working hard and bringing new advertisers, new subscribers.
00:15:37.000So, you know, but Canadians have just such a deference to authority.
00:15:42.300I think it comes from kind of the upper Canadian loyalist Tory tradition.
00:15:48.840I think it comes from that, but they just, you know, credentials, institutions, resumes, these things count for so much more in the in the East and I think in Canada overall, but in the East in particular, you know, the media says that this guy is competent and therefore and then it just becomes an article of faith.
00:16:10.720It's why, you know, you have, you know, the Canadian Bar Association issue statements condemning a newspaper for criticizing the decision of a judge as if that undermines confidence in the justice system, not the justice system making ridiculous decisions to put criminals back on the streets because they have a certain race or they're not a citizen or something like that.
00:16:33.580I think Kearney is just the ultimate emblem of that.
00:16:38.000You know, I'm actually reflecting on Alex's story about the senior civil servant who didn't have a credit score because she never borrowed money.
00:16:48.900Could we not have more of them who actually don't launch their campaign saying, well, we're going to come off a balanced budget, go straight into four years of deficits, then we'll think about it.
00:17:01.980and instead double the amount of money that they said they were going to borrow
00:17:05.540and take the national debt from $600 billion to $1.2 billion in five years.
00:17:13.260I mean, I actually kind of like the idea of somebody who has an aversion to debt being in government.
00:17:19.860The last year Canada ran a circle, was it like 2009?
00:17:25.700and okay so it'd be it'd be circa 2007 or 8 would be the last time canada ran a surplus
00:17:33.060harper had pretty much eliminated the deficit by the time he left office yeah but it was still
00:17:38.460it's still technically in deficit and then trudeau ramped it up massively and well you know you got
00:17:46.020remember if you're thinking about why things are the way they are in canada people voted for that
00:17:51.000He actually said, when we had a balanced budget, we've been talking about balanced budgets and overspending since the early 90s, finally we make it.
00:18:00.160And he said, oh, I think we'll run deficits for four years.
00:18:03.980And he said, what a good idea, we should do that, and voted them in.
00:18:07.540So, you know, the Canadian people, unfortunately, have a certain amount to answer for in this as well.
00:18:13.840When you look at the statistics on personal debt, yep, they voted for a government that does things the way they do them.
00:18:20.520Back to the girl who has no credit score.0.64
00:25:39.520I don't remember it exactly, but here, we'll throw
00:25:41.340his written statement up on the screen here.
00:25:43.440so people can see it exactly, but it was kind of equivocating.
00:25:47.700It was like, oh, well, we have to find the balance between personal safety and free speech.1.00
00:25:52.260Personal safety is a hundred pound woman who couldn't knock my dog over is no threat to anyone.1.00
00:26:02.920To imply in any way that she is a threat to safety is buying into the words or violence narrative of these nut jobs.1.00
00:26:10.840I think the Alberta government and the Minister of Post-Secondary Education in particular is fumbling this one badly.
00:26:20.140The University of Lethbridge should be getting a letter saying you have one week to apologize, make restitution, put in place a policy to prove this will never happen again.
00:26:30.280Or a week from now, we are pulling every single tax dollar from the University of Lethbridge.
00:26:37.840Of course, you are setting in nothing, the pain, the suffering, the harmed feelings, which are, in the woke world, just as serious as physical injury.
00:26:50.380In this case, the minister, the UCP minister, gave that credence, balancing personal safety.
00:26:57.020They use the safety weasel words in all of the universities, though.
00:27:01.160They often say, well, we can't guarantee the safety of the speaker who's coming in or the guest.
00:27:05.660Well, that's a fault of the university, then.
00:27:08.300That means you're not getting your own students in order.
00:27:11.660But they use that as, we can't guarantee your safety,
00:27:13.700so for your own sake, we're going to cancel the event.
00:27:16.320For me, that's an argument that it's up to you to get enough security0.97
00:27:18.900and get enough police to beat the shit out of the people0.96
00:27:21.560who are trying to violently stop and from taking place0.99
00:27:25.300who are trying to use violence and force to stop a speaker.
00:27:29.080It's incumbent on the university to provide the protection,
00:29:29.800given that in the last B.C. Conservative leadership debate, which was only days earlier,
00:29:34.260there was a bit of a race to the bottom on this issue of who hated land acknowledgements the most.
00:29:41.320And then nobody contested when the land acknowledgement opened to the next debate,
00:29:45.100which I think speaks to the fact that the candidates might not have as much gumption as maybe their campaigns pretend that they do.
00:29:52.700Yeah, it seemed like a missed opportunity that maybe when they're talking about land acknowledgements,
00:29:58.300Yes, I'm the most conservative. I'm against this stuff.
00:30:01.300This stuff is just, you know, a part of guilt and shame culture or the cult of shame that we're all supposed to have in European countries because we're all colonial, genocidal maniacs.
00:30:14.440This seemed like a missed opportunity for someone to stand up, at least at their first speaking opportunity, not necessarily interrupt them, but be like, hey, I just want to acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of British Columbia.
00:30:28.300I mean, I will offer some forgiveness to them in the sense that in BC, these things are so baked into the cake, socio-culturally and politically.
00:30:37.820You hear land acknowledgments so often, especially if you're working even in the private sector, in the finance world, that you really become oblivious to it.
00:30:45.260I had barely noticed the land acknowledgment until others started ranting about it online.
00:30:51.740Shame on you. We're going to have to splash some cold water on you.0.99
00:30:54.840Well, I mean, I've never done one, and I don't intend to, and I don't understand why they happen, but...
00:31:00.520I'll know you're trying to quit if you do.
00:31:02.280Yeah, it's just like anything else, right? I mean, you can acclimatize yourself to just about anything.
00:31:07.860Yeah. Okay, well, kind of give us, just kind of at a high level, you don't have to go through each of them,
00:31:13.540but, you know, tell us, what were some of the big highlights?
00:31:17.360Who do you think came out on top and maybe improved their position from this debate?
00:31:21.560there really were no big highlights it was quite a mundane event so um the highlight was the land
00:31:27.500acknowledgement and then that von palmer went on like a bit of a grandpa simpson rant at the end
00:31:33.440that a lot of people thought was a waste of time i thought it was kind of interesting personally
00:31:37.020it's nice to hear somebody's history in bc politics um i imagine it's a minority opinion
00:31:42.740uh in terms of who i thought was the best or the worst everybody kind of held their ground
00:31:48.560um this has really never been when you ask for a high level uh look at this this has never been
00:31:54.740a particularly high level race in the sense that all of the candidates agree on all of the major
00:31:59.380issues so it really is just a matter of personality and likability almost at this point
00:32:03.460it's uh what are the one of the i don't know how to put it um one of the debates uh maybe fault
00:32:13.480lines i i've noticed in the race is you know some are saying some of the candidates are saying we
00:32:19.000need to talk less about culture war issues more about you know fiscal management market issues
00:32:24.680more of the kind of the think of the older bc liberals uh you know late gordon campbell uh
00:32:31.820where it was just about fiscal probity but he's kind of a return to kind of traditional reaganite
00:32:37.240economic focus as you know the fiscal conservative thing and that's all important but in 2026 that's
00:32:45.800not really what's animating people but i know there there is some kind of split in some candidates
00:32:50.360saying no we should not be emphasizing fight against drippa yeah maybe i'm against drippa but
00:32:55.120like on purely economic grounds i'm not against i don't want to get into it because i'm i'm sick
00:33:02.340of white guilt i'm sick of ritual shaming uh i'm only against it because it compromises
00:33:09.140our our our economic prosperity i think i'm seeing that as kind of a fault line emerging in the race
00:33:15.120i would disagree so on drippa all of the candidates completely agree they've each said
00:33:20.160ad nauseum that they intend to repeal it as quickly as possible even david evey just as
00:33:24.400recently as a few weeks ago was saying that repealing it was non-negotiable
00:33:28.000so only that the only party in bc and the only political faction that wants to keep drippa is
00:33:33.220the green party and they say all kinds of crazy things so yeah yeah i know i know there are all
00:33:37.480the candidates are saying they want they're going to get rid of it but some are it's purely just
00:33:41.800because this is economically disastrous not for the other side which is that it is also socially
00:33:47.180and culturally contagious and and and sickening and that you know some of i think uh it's maybe
00:33:53.360it's Ian Black, who's like, you know, he wants the race to be about physical management and
00:33:59.380property, economic prosperity, and less about culture wars. Yeah, I would agree with you
00:34:06.840completely. And whether or not that will resonate with the BC conservative audience is very difficult
00:34:11.100to know at this time. I do worry, in fact, to Ian Black's point, that what might be occurring with
00:34:17.040some of the other candidates is a bit of online audience capture, where we're against becoming a
00:34:21.680bit of a race to the bottom that will make them less electable in the general election against
00:34:25.420the NDP because BC, as we all know, is fairly left coast. So you can't go so far to the right
00:34:31.600to win the leadership race that you lose the whole thing. And so he is being to some extent
00:34:38.280the adult in the room by encouraging restraint. All right. If you had to handicap the race right
00:34:45.840now uh you know carolyn elliott seems to be the name that comes up the most uh has she got it in
00:34:53.000the bag or is this going to be a multi-ballot uh vote my impression is that she does not have it in
00:35:00.440the bag but she is the front runner and i would put millibar second after her carolyn finley third
00:35:05.880ian black fourth and i think fulmer's campaign is is um it's in trouble because the details
00:35:13.980related to the mou with the one bc thing have never been ironed out and um so it's not even
00:35:19.520clear if the mechanics of the party would allow why don't you suss that out a bit i don't think
00:35:23.740people outside of alberta outside of british colombia know that much about it tell us about
00:35:29.180this mou one bc sure so uh the conservative party would be the right-leaning right of center party
00:35:35.160in bc one bc would be something to the right of that it would be the equivalent to the ppc let's
00:35:40.280say. So in order to not divide the vote on the right and to avoid vote splitting, an agreement
00:35:46.960was made between Yuri Fulmer, who was really the last place candidate at the time, to stand down
00:35:52.340in five ridings out of, I can't remember off the top of my head, 93 ridings in BC. And that way,
00:35:58.740they would ensure that they could have five 1BC candidates elected that would work in tandem with
00:36:04.380the Conservative Party. Now, there's a whole bunch of details about this that don't really make
00:36:07.840sense. Number one, there's no conditions for the supply and confidence agreement. There's no lines
00:36:12.040in the sand. So why even have two parties at that point? Secondly, we haven't identified which five
00:36:17.980ridings would run 1BC candidates. And so there are five writing associations, hypothetically
00:36:23.080speaking, that haven't been told that they need to stand down. Would they agree to that? We don't
00:36:27.440know. And if they were told that they were to stand down and they declined, then the board of
00:36:34.560the Conservative Party would be put into the precarious position of either kicking them off,
00:36:39.180the writing association, or I don't know. So the whole thing is actually quite dysfunctional
00:36:46.980when you break it down to its inner mechanics. It doesn't actually make sense. Then you also
00:36:51.560have the issue too, where the 1BC party is not actually a party, officially speaking. There's
00:36:55.340only one MLA. There was originally two, but they had some dysfunction, and so they had to split up.
00:36:59.760And so it becomes very, very hard to believe that a one B.C. party of five candidates would act in perfect unity with the B.C. Conservative Party when the same political entity couldn't keep a caucus of two unified for a particularly long period of time.
00:39:08.700Alex, what actually are the fault lines in the Conservative Party?
00:39:13.460In BC? I assume. I don't think there are many, to be frank. I think that people are splitting hairs. A great example would be land acknowledgments. So some individuals think that land acknowledgments should be banned in the public service, something that they should be strongly discouraged. Others think that they should be allowed to continue.
00:39:32.320You know, at the end of the day, I mean, if somebody does a land acknowledgement takes 15 seconds out of the meeting, you know, it's annoying.
00:39:38.160And I think that it does have legal consequences way downstream.
00:39:41.500I see both arguments, but but these are really not make or break issues for the conservative party of B.C.