Here's what B.C.'s opposition parties could take away from this weekend's byelections

The results of two byelections over the weekend prove the B.C. United Party has its work cut out for it in drawing voters old and new before the province heads to the polls next year, according to a political analyst.

The B.C. NDP retained seats in two byelections on Saturday. Ravi Parmar, 28, gained 53 per cent of the vote in Langford-Juan de Fuca, and Joan Phillip was elected with 68 per cent of the vote in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant.

Preliminary results from Elections B.C. show that B.C. United — formerly known as the B.C. Liberal Party — saw its share of the Langford-Juan de Fuca vote drop by more than six percentage points since 2020. 

The relatively low-profile B.C. Conservative Party, meanwhile, captured nearly 20 per cent of the vote with Mike Harris — despite not running a candidate in the riding in the 2020 election.

WATCH | SFU lecturer says B.C. United need to entice previous Liberal voters: 

What 2 byelection defeats could mean for the B.C. United Party

1 year ago

Duration 1:25

Political scientist Stewart Prest talks about the impact of the June 24 byelections on the province's centre-right parties.

"In that district at least, we saw the B.C. Conservatives able to offer a compelling alternative to the B.C. United party. And that suggests that perhaps B.C. United needs to do more work reintroducing themselves under their new name to voters," said Simon Fraser University political science lecturer Stewart Prest.

"Or perhaps more ominously for the party, it suggests that voters are not convinced of the wisdom of the new name change and that they are looking for another place to vote when they are looking for an alternative to the B.C. NDP."

Prest noted that Harris had campaigned on issues like lowering tax rates and pushing for light rail transit on Vancouver Island — topics that could be attractive to centrist voters.

"Whereas in Mount Pleasant, the B.C. Conservative candidate [Karin Litzcke] really stressed issues related to what you might call 'culture war' topics, and talking about limits on trans rights, and so on. And that clearly did not resonate with voters in Vancouver," he said.

"I think we can take from this the idea that perhaps B.C. United has more work to do, but we also get a clear sense of the kinds of arguments that might resonate with British Columbians."

Ahead of the next election, Prest suggested that B.C. United needs to draw back in the attention of loyal B.C. Liberal voters, making sure they know what the newly branded party brings forward from the old name — but also helping them understand what's different about B.C. United, and why the change was made in the first place.

Meanwhile, Prest suggested the B.C. Greens are likely disappointed at a continued lack of growth in Metro Vancouver — something he said they need if they want to gain traction outside Vancouver Island and present themselves as a viable alternative to the B.C. NDP.

In a statement Sunday, B.C. Greens leader Sonia Furstenau congratulated the successful NDP candidates in both ridings, but said elected officials need to ask themselves why so few voters cast ballots in the byelections.

Out of the 51,588 registered voters in Langford-Juan de Fuca, only around 26 per cent cast ballots.

Meanwhile, around 17 per cent the 45,265 registered voters in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant showed up to the polls. In the 2020 provincial election, around 54 per cent of voters cast a ballot despite pandemic restrictions.

However, Prest noted that both Langford-Juan de Fuca and Vancouver-Mount Pleasant are historically NDP strongholds.

"In these byelections when there's a safe NDP majority and the NDP remains relatively popular in the polls, then [voters feel] there really isn't a lot of meaning behind the choice," he said.