BC HST referendum results expected today

[Hatman 🍁]

Results will be here: http://electionsbcenr.blob.core.windows.net/electionsbcenr/REF-2011-001.html

Sign seen when I was in Vancouver


Report expected from my blog when the results are in.

[Hatman 🍁]

It is expected to be close.

[Hatman 🍁]

What does it mean?

The HST is an unpopular tax the BC Liberals brought in to harmonize provincial and federal goods and services taxes. While it will save the governments money, it also increases taxes on certain things. Ontario introduced the HST here too, but there was less outrage about it. (In BC, the Premier resigned over it, and they got a referendum). One of its effects was increasing tax on gas, which pissed a lot of the working and middle classes off. In Ontario, the NDP and the Tories are against it, and in BC the NDP is against it. Voting yes on the referendum will get rid of it.

[Hatman 🍁]

So it's levied in one step, the money then split between the feds and the province?

I remember when I was in Alberta that you always had to mentally add sales tax to supermarket prizes. Quite annoying, I thought that.

Wha? Groceries are exempt from VATs.

[Hatman 🍁]

So, does this mean an election?

[Hatman 🍁]

Map!

beat me to it

I guess I wont post mine here then.

[Hatman 🍁]

Well, you can see it on my blog: http://canadianelectionatlas.blogspot.com/2011/08/referendum-to-abolish-hst-fails-in-bc.html

[Hatman 🍁]

I added dots to represent the ridings that voted BC Liberal but voted against their own party. The more dots the stronger the vote for the party.

It's quite clear that Richmond defeated the HST, with help from parts of Surrey. The other only other areas to vote incorrectly, outside the NDP ridings, were along the Alberta border, and I can't really blame them for being so close to something so evil when it comes to taxes.

I noted that in my blog; Richmond and the Peace River seem to be the populist parts of BC.

[Hatman 🍁]

It looks like the BC Conservatives may do well in the northern and eastern parts of BC, since these are areas where the NDP doesn't do well, but there is clear discontent with the Liberals.

[Hatman 🍁]

I just hope the Conservatives in BC pull off a half decent campaign. The marriage between the centre right and the far right in BC has to end at some point.  The only reason it exists is to keep the NDP out of power.  Luckily, Christy Clark is a federal Liberal and is sure to alienate the right wing of the party.

Unfortunately though, there are more divisions in the NDP than the Liberals. Hopefully Dix is able to keep the party together. I saw him at the convention, and he seems to be very competent. He's also bilingual, which is unusual in BC. (although I can name at least 2 other BC NDP politicians who are bilingual... and I dont mean in Mandarin)

[Hatman 🍁]

It looks like the BC Conservatives may do well in the northern and eastern parts of BC, since these are areas where the NDP doesn't do well, but there is clear discontent with the Liberals.

The areas in the Northeast BC are more Albertan than British Columbian in their politics.  In fact I believe there was even a secessionist movement at one point to join Alberta.  It is also the only area in BC in Mountain Time and east of Continental Divide as well as looks a lot like the prairies.  In fact these two ridings both voted for the BC Reform Party in 1996 are were the only two in that election.

Seems like easy Conservative pickups if you ask me!

[Hatman 🍁]

The Punjabis will vote NDP, but I don't see the Chinese doing so. Maybe they will vote Conservative, but I doubt it.

[Hatman 🍁]

Now is a bad time to be the government of BC. There's a good chance if there is a fall election, and if the NDP wins (and they probably would) that it would be a single-term government, and that the NDP would not be returned to government in BC for quite some time to come.

That seems to be common in BC...

[Hatman 🍁]

Getting rid of it is stupid, even though I would have voted to do so in BC (to stick it to the Liberals).