When an interview with Andrew Wilkinson begins, the B.C. NDP are leading the provincial election in 43 ridings and the Liberals are leading in 42.
By the time the interview ends, the numbers are switched. And in between the Liberal incumbent for Vancouver-Quilchena watched with dismay as some of his Liberal colleagues appeared poised to lose their seats.
“Everyone knew it was a tight race going in and it’s an even tighter race coming out,” says Wilkinson, who served as minister of advanced education and has almost twice the number of votes as his NDP opponent.
B.C. has a history of “chippy” elections and this one is no different. Vancouver has a wide range of political views and “the tone of each riding is different,” he says.
Vancouver-Quilchena is largely residential with one of the highest education and income levels, he says. “They make up their own minds. They can’t be told what to do. They have to be persuaded.”
Wilkinson said “it makes my stomach turn” when he watches poll results put the NDP ahead of the Liberals and fellow Liberals lose their jobs. “There’s a sense of loss when someone you’ve worked with falls behind. It will be a long night.”
He contributes part of his success to the relationships his office fostered since his election in 2013, replacing veteran MLA Colin Hansen. His campaign “focused on opportunity, prosperity, reasonably low levels of taxation and making sure opportunity is open to everyone.”
At 10:20 p.m. on election night, Wilkinson had 56 per cent of the vote (6,483), NDP candidate Madeline Lalonde had 27 per cent (3,119) and the Green Party’s Michal Barkusky had 15 per cent (1,720.)
Courier editor-in-chief Martha Perkins spent election night at the BC Liberals' headquarters at the Fairmont Waterfront.
