The North Shore battleground

NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Here’s what you need to know about the North Shore ridings ahead of the polls closing on Saturday:

There are plenty of new faces among the candidates on the North Shore, but the issues most important to voters remain the same.

Transportation, housing costs, and taxation are top of mind for many as cast their ballots in the provincial election.

For the first time in many years, the ballot in West Vancouver-Capilano is filled with all newcomers with the departure of five-term Liberal MLA Ralph Sultan, who is retiring at the age of 87.

The BC Liberal stronghold is considered a safe bet for the party, but it was during a Zoom roast for Sultan’s retirement that the most controversial point in the North Shore campaign came, as North Vancouver-Seymour incumbent Jane Thornthwaite made disparaging remarks about North Vancouver-Lonsdale NDP incumbent Bowinn Ma.

Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson was among the participants who appeared to be amused by the comments.

“Bowinn is a very pretty lady, and she knows that she’s got ‘it’,” said Thornthwaite, joking that Ma had cuddled up to Sultan during an exchange to try to gain his attention.

After a video of the exchange went public, Thornthwaite — who has represented her riding for three terms — apologized to Ma, as did Wilkinson, both admitting the comments were inappropriate and in bad taste.

It remains to be seen if the controversy will be a significant advantage for Thornthwaite’s NDP challenger, Susie Chant, as the Liberal vote share in North Vancouver-Seymour has steadily declined over the past decade. The riding has voted Liberal, or Social Credit, since 1975.

Ma, who won Londale-North Vancouver in 2017 in the first NDP victory there in more than two decades, is hoping to hold onto her seat.

Ma’s challengers include first-time candidate ‘Lyn Anglin with the BC Liberals. (‘Lyn is short for Carolyn — she says her mother was a stickler for grammatical correctness.)

West Vancouver-Sea to Sky has also been a Liberal stronghold for almost three decades, with former Pemberton Mayor Jordan Sturdy looking to hold onto the seat he has held since 2013, though the BC Greens made significant gains in voter support in the riding last election.

Join us for full coverage of B.C. Votes 2020 starting at 7 p.m. Saturday. Follow Mike Lloyd on Twitter for the latest from the North Shore, and listen live for his reports.