CTV News Reality Check: Legislated funding, not a 'rigged election' in B.C.

On the day he spoke to one of his largest audiences to date, the leader of the BC Conservatives made an exceptionally misleading statement around a well-publicized funding model for political parties that’s been in place since 2018.

John Rustad told mayors, councillors and other delegates at the annual Union of BC Municipalities convention that he would provide $1 billion a year in funding for new sewer and water infrastructure, reiterated his plans to eliminate the carbon tax, and expanded on his public safety strategy, but it was his press conference with journalists afterward that raised eyebrows.

“The NDP have rigged the election rules, they actually have given themselves a $2 per vote subsidy for every vote they got in the last election, every year,” he said in response to a question about how he planned to campaign against the NDP.

It’s true that the BC New Democrats collect $1.81 for every valid vote received in the last general election – but so does every other political party in the province, including the BC Conservatives. Rustad has reason to be bitter, but more on that in a moment.

Elections BC began paying out the annual allowances in 2018, after John Horgan followed through on a campaign promise to end big-ticket corporate and union donations and slap a $1,200 annual limit on personal political donations. At the time, the annual per-vote allowance was criticized as a handout on the taxpayer dime.

“The Election Act establishes how allowances are calculated,” according to Elections BC’s website. “The Chief Electoral Officer must pay allowances in two equal installments on January 15 and July 15 in each applicable year.

In 2020, the BC NDP earned 47.7 per cent of the overall vote, while the Conservative party garnered just 1.1 per cent as a fringe party; the Libertarian party drew 0.44 per cent of the vote.

The non-partisan office of the legislature publicly posts the payment schedule resulting from those election results and it’s clear why Rustad is frustrated.

Since the last election, the BC Conservatives have received just $253,000 in annual allowances from Elections BC, while the BC Greens have seen $2 million, and the NDP a whopping $6.3 million. Even BC United, no longer a party after a spectacular collapse last month, cashed $4.5 million in cheques since January of 2021.

The payments are made twice a year, and since BC United leader Kevin Falcon pulled the plug in late August, the party was able to collect a final cheque for $575,713 in July, when Rustad’s party saw a paltry $32,491.

The annual allowances will be updated after October’s election based on votes cast, with polling suggesting the BC Conservatives will be in a far better financial position by the time the next provincial election rolls around, but doesn’t do them any good now.

“They've got a huge war chest, we're not going to be able to compete with that head-on,” admitted Rustad. “(But) we've got a good campaign and you're going to see a lot more as we get into the writ period.”

Writ Day is Saturday, Sept. 21 and the general election takes place Oct. 19, with advance voting beginning Oct. 10.