It could be the fight of the night in the 2013 B.C. election.
Pollsters predict Christy Clark has a slim chance of retaining her premiership, and even the embattled Liberal Leader’s seat in the legislature is far from guaranteed.
It’s tough to say who will be chosen to represent Vancouver-Point Grey, one of the most hotly contested ridings in the election, when the dust settles Tuesday night.
Incumbent Clark beat out her NDP challenger David Eby in a 2011 by-election by just 564 votes.
This could be the year that Eby, a homelessness advocate who formerly served as executive director of the BC Civil Liberties Association, finally overthrows Clark, with the NDP maintaining a nine-point lead in the polls leading into Election Day.
Clark suffered a battery of bad press in recent months and it remains to be seen whether that will have a negative effect on the minds of her riding’s constituents, who have chosen a Liberal candidate in five straight elections since 1996.
A leaked memo revealing a Liberal plan to win over the ethnic vote forced the premier to apologize several times after her top advisor resigned in the face of the scandal.
Voters in the area also haven’t had many opportunities to see Clark up close – she turned down an appearance at an all-candidates debate held in the riding, presumably focusing her efforts on campaigning provincially instead.
But the electoral district is among the province’s wealthiest and history has shown that top-money makers tend to favour the business friendly Liberals, whose platform is built around strengthening the economy.
Some say Vancouver-Point Grey could serve as an indicator of the entire election – making Clark vs. Eby nearly as intriguing a battle as Clark vs. Dix.
