Cash and dad jokes: Campaigning in full swing ahead of B.C. fall election
At a press conference announcing “supports for drivers,” premier David Eby gave another sign of his strategies in courting British Columbia’s voters ahead of this fall’s provincial election.
Reporters who attended the event at a Victoria strip mall found a podium with a large vanity license plate reading “Beautiful 2024 Rebate” and watched as the AC/DC song “Back in Black” played as Eby walked up to the microphone with a large grin.
“Some people say car insurance is boring, but I say it's rock and roll,” he quipped, going on to make several song references to the band. “There's no question that drivers in B.C. renewing their insurance are on the ‘Highway to Hell’ under (BC United leader) Kevin Falcon and (BC Conservative leader) John Rustad, but now ICBC is ‘Back in the Black’ and drivers will be ‘Thunderstruck’ by the announcement today.”
The puns are the latest example of dad jokes and comments Eby has made that may seem like ordinary displays of personal humour, but are likely part of a strategy to amp up the premier’s likeability.
“He does have a tendency to sound a bit like a university law professor when he talks about policy, so this is an attempt to, I think, connect with voters on a more personal level,” said Hamish Telford, an associate professor of political science at the University of the Fraser Valley. “He really is trying to style himself as that ‘premier dad.’”
Eby’s predecessor, John Horgan, had a similar folksy manner when speaking publicly that resonated with many voters, and other provincial leaders have taken similar approaches to their personal brand and public personae.
The BC NDP has been focusing on kitchen table politics, especially since Eby took the helm, particularly on housing and affordability, as they struggle to manage issues that are endemic throughout Canada and the U.S.
The $110 ICBC rebate and freeze on basic car insurance rates Eby was there to announce came under immediate fire by the opposition parties in the legislature, who are keen to build more momentum against the NDP now that they’ve been scoring political points and a roll-back on drug decriminalization.
“I think we can all recognize that this (rebate) is a fairly flagrant attempt to change the channel and try to get people to ignore the nightmarish legislative session the NDP have been going through,” Kevin Falcon told reporters at the legislature later that day.
That may very well be a factor, but even Eby pointed out that ICBC’s occasional surplus revenues have been used as by other political parties in past years, and that the end of the Crown corporation’s fiscal year is the reason for the timing – but of course, with all things political, there are likely many layers.
“This is manipulating ICBC for political purposes, which is I think’s inappropriate, whichever party is doing it,” said Telford. “I'm not sure that complaint, though, lands with voters who would just prefer to have the $110 back in their pockets.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
ANALYSIS Will Donald Trump go to prison? What the precedent says
Now that the jury in Donald Trump's criminal trial has made the historic decision to convict him, the judge overseeing the case will soon face a monumental choice: whether to sentence the 2024 Republican presidential candidate to time behind bars.
Can Trump come to Canada now that he's a convicted felon?
A Canadian immigration lawyer says now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, he is technically barred from crossing the border into Canada.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.
A pair enjoyed pricey meals and bolted when it was time to pay. Their dine and dash ended in jail
A Welsh couple who dined out on pricey meals and bolted when the bill came is now paying the price, behind bars.
Montreal tech billionaire charged with several sex offences
Robert Miller was charged Thursday with several sexual assault charges after Montreal police reopened an investigation into the tech billionaire.
Loblaw testing out small-format No Frills grocery stores
Loblaw is testing smaller-format discount stores across the country this year as shoppers increasingly look for ways to save on their grocery bill.
Here's what you should know about Donald Trump's conviction in his hush money trial
Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts marks the end of the former president’s historic hush money trial, but the fight over the case is far from over.
Doomsday plot: Jury convicts Idaho man of killing wife and girlfriend's 2 children
An Idaho man was convicted Thursday of killing his wife and his new girlfriend's two youngest kids in a strange triple murder case that included claims of apocalyptic prophesies, zombie children and illicit affairs.
Russian missiles kill 4 in Kharkiv after Biden OKs a Ukrainian response using U.S. weapons
Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment block in Kharkiv and killed at least four people in a night-time attack, Ukrainian officials said Friday, a day after U.S. President Joe Biden gave Kyiv a green light to strike back with American weapons at Russian military assets targeting the country's second-largest city.