1. Secondary PowerPoint 6: Elections in British Columbia

2. Why do we have elections?

3. What is an election?
An election is the selection process for determining our political representatives and the political direction of our government.
Elections are contests of leadership, ideas, politics and power, where interested groups and individuals campaign for our support and, ultimately, our vote.

4. Candidates and Political Parties
An individual who seeks public office or competes for the job of elected representative is called a candidate.
At the federal level and the provincial level in B.C., most candidates are associated with a political party.
Political parties bring together people with similar political views and goals who are seeking to effect change by being elected.

5. What is an electoral district?
British Columbia is divided into 87 electoral districts (or ridings), which are defined geographic areas.
The size of electoral districts is determined by factors such as population size, demographic make-up and geography.
Urban electoral districts are often smaller and more populous, while rural electoral districts are larger with less dense populations.

6. An electoral system is the way in which voters are able to express their preferences and how the results are determined. Different systems exist around the world.

7. What is our electoral system?
British Columbia uses a system called First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) or Single-Member Plurality – where one member is elected per electoral district.
The rules:
Voters can only choose one candidate on their ballot
The candidate that receives the most votes wins (this is called plurality)

8. How does First-Past-The-Post work?
An example of FPTP, in an electoral district with 100 ballots cast: CANDIDATE NUMBER OF VOTES Lisa (Banana Party) 40 Mohamed (Pear Party) 15 Emma (Apple Party) 11 Thomas (Independent) 34 Lisa wins because she has the most votes (40). The winning candidate does not need a majority amount of support – just one more vote than any other candidate.

9. How do political parties work?
Political parties are made up of interested members of the general public and their intention is to achieve power and create meaningful political change.
Anyone above the required age (usually 14 years old) can join a party.
Party members choose their party’s leader and candidates, and help them get elected.
During elections, parties release a platform which is a series of policy ideas linked to specific issues.

10. There are 28 registered political parties in B.C.:
BC Action Party
BC Conservative Party
BC Green Party
BC NDP
BC Refederation Party
British Columbia Libertarian Party
Christian Heritage Party of British Columbia
Land Air Water Party
The Vancouver Island Party
Your Political Party of BC
BC Cascadia Party
BC Excalibur Party
BC Liberals
BC New Republican Party
BC Social Credit Party
British Columbia Party
Communist Party of BC
People's Front
Unparty: The Consensus–Building Party
BC Citizens First Party
BC First Party
BC Marijuana Party
BC Progressive Party
BC Vision
British Columbia Peoples Party
Cultural Action Party
The Platinum Party of Employers Who Think and Act to Increase Awareness
Work Less Party

11. Local Candidates
Most local candidates are party members selected through a nomination process by the local riding association.
Some candidates choose to run as an independent and they are not affiliated with any party.
The party selects the person they feel has the greatest chance of success as their candidate.

12. If you were a candidate, how would you share your message and ideas
If you were a candidate, how would you share your message and ideas? How would you try to secure support from voters?

13. Candidates and parties use a communications strategy that incorporates all three types of media (paid, earned, owned) to share their platforms through announcements, advertising and events, and to gain support from constituents.

14. How does a party form government?
The party that elects the most number of representatives or wins the most seats usually forms government.
At the provincial level, the leader of the party that forms government becomes the premier.
After the 2013 provincial election, the Liberals formed government because they had won 45 out of 85 legislative seats.

15. 2013 Provincial Election Results
Political Party
Candidates Elected
Popular Vote
British Columbia Liberal Party 49
44.1%
British Columbia New Democratic Party 34
39.7%
Green Party of British Columbia 1
8.2%
British Columbia Conservative Party
4.8%
Independent
2.4%
Other affiliations
0.9%
Source: Elections BC 15

16. 2013 Provincial Student Vote Results
Political Party
Candidates Elected
Popular Vote
British Columbia Liberal Party 21
28.2%
British Columbia New Democratic Party 53
38.5%
Green Party of British Columbia 8
17.2%
British Columbia Conservative Party
8.6%
Independent 3
3.7%
Other affiliations
3.8% 16

17. How did the Student Vote results compare to the general election results? Why do you think the results are different?

18. Debrief
Which candidates are running for office in your electoral district? How can you find out?
How can you learn about the candidates and the parties they represent?
Would you ever join a party? Why or why not?
Would you ever run for election? Why or why not?