Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad kicked off a month-long campaign Friday to get people considering the idea of hearing the word “Premier” in front of his name.
It would have been a long-shot effort just months ago, but the party’s surge in popularity and the opposition BC United’s surrender have narrowed the odds considerably. Rustad and Premier David Eby are just a few points apart in most polls on the outcome of the Oct. 19 election.
But after back-to-back appearances at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, both of them now appear offside on one key issue with the majority of the 2,200 local government people at the convention. The delegates passed an emergency resolution Friday supporting the carbon tax on consumers, a tax both leaders are now promising to scrap.
Rustad has been criticizing the 15-year-old escalating tax for more than a year. Eby last week abruptly announced he would drop it if the federal requirement is removed, because people can’t afford it.
Municipal leaders responded by whipping together a resolution that said Eby’s move “poses a........