The wave of Liberal support that swept the country Monday night has loosened the NDP’s grip on Burnaby, but local Burnaby Citizens’ Association members are just happy Stephen Harper is gone.
“We felt the early, early prediction of New Democrats doing well across the country wasn’t going to hold, but I certainly wasn’t prepared for the way the Liberals swept the county,” said local city Coun. Sav Dhaliwal.
“I had expected it would be a Liberal government but a minority government and New Democrats would have a chance to work with them,” he said. “It wasn’t a rejection of the NDP as much. I think it was a rejection of the Harper agenda, and the Liberals were beneficiaries of that.”
The Burnaby Citizens’ Association holds all of Burnaby’s city council and school board seats, and the members are all New Democrats.
Dhaliwal said the NDP lost some ground, as Burnaby South almost went to the Liberals, and he was expecting North Burnaby-Seymour to be between the Conservatives and NDP, as Kennedy Stewart won the former Burnaby Douglas riding in 2011 but also on a thin margin. The riding changes that created Burnaby North-Seymour added a piece of the right-leaning North Shore to Burnaby, something Dhaliwal said was a game-changer.
School board chair Ron Burton echoed Dhaliwal’s sentiments; he did not expect Burnaby South to be so close. (Stewart hung on by just 1.2 per cent in a nail-biting race with polls coming in close to midnight.)
“I was surprised that Kennedy Stewart barely held on, and I think he’ll consolidate it over the next couple of terms. He fought a big red wave that was happening. I think people wanted Harper (out),” he said.
Burton, who was expecting a Tory victory in Burnaby North-Seymour, was surprised the Liberals took the riding, which he attributed to Justin Trudeau’s campaign.
“He did a tremendous job,” Burton said, citing one particular Trudeau ad as the best he’s ever seen in politics. “I felt like going out voting for him after that, and everyone I’ve talked to said that was just an incredible ad.”
According to Burton, the NDP misstepped with its core values by promoting a balanced budget.
“It puts us in the same field as Harper. We had to differentiate ourselves from the Conservatives, and too many of our promises were down the road,” he said.
Burton’s didn’t think Monday night’s results will change Burnaby that much.
“I think Terry Beech will be a good representative. I haven’t heard anything to the contrary about it, and of course Kennedy Stewart and Peter Julian will be good representatives,” he said. “The big victory is that Harper’s gone.”
