Hot Ticket: BC’s Populist Right Town Hall Meetings

Polling shows the BC Conservatives and NDP neck in neck ahead of this fall’s provincial election. Several explanations have been offered for the Conservatives’ meteoric rise: the failure of BC United’s rebrand, the popularity of the federal Conservatives, general frustration with the NDP after seven years in power, and affordability concerns.

While each of these explanations have force, the BC Conservatives are also propelled by grassroots energy they cultivate through a group called BC Rising.

BC Rising was founded in 2023 by British Columbians upset by COVID-19 health mandates, and is part of what the freedom convoy attendees and supporters call the “freedom movement.” BC Rising gained media attention last year for spreading climate conspiracy theories and gumming up the gears of municipal climate policy in the Kootenays.

Since then, BC Rising has pivoted to a self-assigned mandate that sounds more mainstream: “election readiness.”

What does that encompass? BC Rising’s webpage shares general voting information, and promotes their election related initiatives, including BC Townhalls 2024 through which they’ve organized 15 gatherings across the province, with more planned. These town halls centre on several provincial bills: one related to health care, (Bill 36, the Health Professions and Occupations Act), two related to housing (Bill 44 and Bill 47), and one related to emergency and disaster preparedness (Bill 31).

The tenor of these meetings is deeply right-wing populist, reflecting fears of government power grabs floating on the fringes of the internet. Broadly speaking, presenters argue that these bills were passed undemocratically and are authoritarian measures from the NDP.

They bridle at the fact that the Health Professions and Occupations Act stipulates that health practitioners can be penalized for spreading misinformation, and worry that power will be used to quell dissent against, for example, vaccinations.

They also imply that Bill 31, a modernized version of existing emergency management legislation, will be used by governments to declare emergencies (for example a climate-related emergency) and arbitrarily to seize citizens’ property. Actually, while Bill 31 includes a clause that allows the Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness to appropriate personal property, a nearly identical clause existed in the previous version of the legislation from 1994.

Regarding housing bills, BC Rising provides a forum for airing grievances against the Eby government for imposing zoning for more density in response to the housing affordability crisis. A common theme voiced at BC Rising events tends to be that the BC NDP bills disempower homeowners while infringing on private property rights. While BC Townhalls slates itself as non-partisan and invites politicians from all parties, their overall messaging is aligned with the BC Conservatives, including calls to vote out the BC NDP.

These are not small events. Many BC Townhalls have had a couple of hundred people in attendance. BC Rising and notTV are also livestreaming town halls, giving them thousands more views.

BC Rising and their network are currently laser focused on the upcoming election. For example, one member has started the Political ScoreCards Canada initiative that creates “performance reports” of politicians based on their voting record, and stance on issues of “individual rights.” Another member of the BC Rising network has started Keyboard Warriors of BC, an initiative seeking to unseat the NDP through sharing posts critical of the NDP to community Facebook groups through their personal and fake accounts.

While it is impossible to quantify how this will affect the election, it is noteworthy that highly motivated people are putting in significant hours of volunteer work to defeat the NDP. Equally notable is the way in which they are tapping into many British Columbians’ frustrations and attracting many to their events.

BC Rising has several ties to the BC Conservative Party, including multiple members who are candidates in the fall election (one was dropped) and one member who is a riding association chair. They also have a clear line of communication to the BC Conservative leader, as members have met with John Rustad on multiple occasions to discuss opposition to the Health Professions and Occupations Act. Rustad presented postcards opposing the act to Health Minister Adrian Dix.

Rustad spoke at a BC Townhall in Campbell River, calling the passing of Bill 44 and Bill 47 “an authoritarian approach.”

Rustad’s consistent denial that climate change is a serious crisis and primarily caused by humans, (a stance he recently repeated in an interview with Jordan Peterson) and his anti-trans dog whistling are further appeals to the growing conspiracist elements of his grassroots base.

The NDP will be able to make gains by painting the BC Conservatives as the BC Conspiracy Party. Several of Rustad’s views are far outside the mainstream. Even grassroots groups like BC Rising who share those views are moderating their messaging in advance of the election.

But is there a progressive equivalent of what BC Rising represents — grassroots support for BC Conservatives from highly motivated volunteers willing to give of their time and energy to see their party elected?

In the recent past, the BC NDP chose to stifle members backing climate activist Anjali Appadurai for leader. The green-leaning grassroots of the party may have been further alienated by the BC NDP government maintaining loopholes in the carbon tax for the fossil fuel industry and failing to meet their own commitments to protect old-growth forests.

Another natural constituency of frustrated citizens hungry for change are tenants as rents spiral upwards. But the BC NDP has refused to endorse a broad application of vacancy control.

Those moves may seem politically sensible for a governing party seeking to appeal to more centrist voters in the province. However, as the energy flowing out of BC Rising demonstrates, there is a price to be paid by quelling populist zeal. A centre-leaning BC NDP risks being out-organized by the far right. If the BC NDP hopes to hold onto power, it needs to galvanize a progressive base.