Brodie hopes voters give OneBC the balance of power in a minority government

OneBC leader Dallas Brodie says the best-case result for her party in Saturday’s provincial election would be enough of its candidates elected to play a pivotal role in setting legislative priorities. OneBC is running 33 candidates. Brodie says that if enough win and the legislature has a minority government, they could have significant influence over the Conservative caucus.

Brodie won Vancouver-Quilchena in 2024 as a Conservative. An acrimonious split from the party led to the formation of OneBC. Speaking to CTV News at the party’s campaign headquarters on Vancouver’s west side, she said OneBC would be the “real conservatives” in the legislature, holding the line. She compared that role to the Greens holding the line for their core supporters and said her party would make sure it did not “go wobbly.”

Many on the political right see avoiding culture wars and focusing on practical issues such as finances, health care and infrastructure as a path to victory. Brodie takes a different view. Speaking about social issues, she said some people call it a culture war, but she considers it a war because one side has been pushing these issues forcefully. Many people did not ask for that, she said, so the pushback should not come as a surprise.

Brodie wants to repeal legislation mandating SOGI 123, a set of resources about sexual orientation and gender identity available in B.C. schools. She also wants a hard line on reconciliation, calling the B.C. treaty process one-sided and vowing to take a more adversarial, litigious approach with First Nations chiefs. She said Indigenous leaders should stop pulling the province apart and examine their own greed and actions. She called British Columbia a “golden goose” and accused them of killing it.

Brodie is fighting to keep her political career alive in Vancouver-Quilchena. She said the election should never have been called because David Eby and his NDP government had two years left in their mandate and held a slim majority in the legislature. She called the election “political opportunism at its worst” and said the province was already facing a deficit of almost $14 billion. She estimated the election would cost close to $100 million.

All major parties are fielding candidates in the riding: Carson Binda for the B.C. Conservatives, Callista Ryan for the NDP, Douglas Courtmanche for the Green Party and Petra Kuret for CentreBC.

Brodie says that whether she wins or loses on Saturday, she will leave the campaign with her head held high and her principles intact. She said she believes she has done a duty and provided a service to British Columbia, a province she loves, and to Vancouver, where she is a fifth-generation resident. She added that she feels she will have done something for her ancestors who built the place.