Two of Vancouver’s most high-profile, environmentally focused civic politicians of the past two decades are competing to run for the British Columbia NDP in what is regarded as an easily winnable riding, setting up a difficult choice for the party.
OneCity Vancouver councillor Christine Boyle and former Vision Vancouver councillor Andrea Reimer announced this week that they are vying for nomination in what is now the riding of Vancouver-Little Mountain. The winner will be decided in a vote set for April 4 and will replace Environment Minister George Heyman as the NDP candidate for the seat in the provincial election later this year, after he said he wouldn’t be running again.
Ms. Boyle has led the charge on climate-change actions at Vancouver council since she was first elected in 2018. She has also been ordained as a United Church minister. Ms. Reimer, meanwhile, was the executive director at Western Canada Wilderness Committee for 10 years and was also elected as a school-board trustee for the Green Party before she joined Vision and served as a councillor for a decade.
The revelation about the two environmentalists competing has baffled fans and political observers, raising questions about how NDP members in the riding will decide between the two and what this means for Vancouver civic politics.
“I’m so confused,” said George Affleck, a former city councillor who ran against Mr. Heyman in the 2020 election for the then-B.C. Liberals and lost badly. “There’s so many other ridings available.”
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But he said that Ms. Boyle was likely discouraged at the thought that she would be stuck in an opposition role at city council for at least another six years if she remained, since it would be unusual for Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC party to be voted out of office after only one term and after winning such a strong majority in 2022.
Mr. Heyman has strongly endorsed Ms. Reimer, who has volunteered in the riding for years and worked on his campaigns, chairing his last election-planning group.
“George asked me to run ages back and asked me to prepare myself,” said Ms. Reimer, who has been working as an adjunct professor at the University of B.C. as well as consulting for environmental and Indigenous groups since she left city politics in 2022.
She said that, even though the NDP has already set an aggressive agenda on many social and environmental issues, she feels there is a lot more to do.
“I think I could definitely help them with the substantial agenda they’ve put together. The main stage now is building the support to make the legislation durable.”
She said she feels like she could bring an important voice, as well, advocating more for urban and off-reserve Indigenous people. Ms. Reimer, who was adopted, spent time when she was young living in the Downtown Eastside and discovered several years ago that she has Cree/Métis heritage.
Ms. Boyle, who made a point of calling David Eby a friend in her announcement, said she feels that she can do just as much to help Vancouver by advocating at the provincial level for even more improvements in housing, transit and social issues.
“There’s a lot that’s been accomplished, but there’s a lot more to do. I think I play an important role at the city but I know I could have an even bigger role,” she said.
Ms. Boyle has been endorsed by former city councillor and NDP MP Libby Davies. She said Mr. Eby, who has not yet publicly commented on the race, is staying neutral.
If Ms. Boyle wins the nomination race, she says she would take an unpaid leave from council until the provincial election. If she wins the riding, the city would have to call a by-election, as it would be two years before the next civic race. That would create a large hole at Vancouver city council, where Ms. Boyle was seen as a potential leader of a renewed left-wing political organization with OneCity.
Frances Bula