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An election deep dive, as provincial politicking heats up two months out

Plus, the owner of the Narrow Group shares a model for cost effective artist studios

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Good morning, 

Nate here. As our gloomy end of August rolls on I’ve been reflecting about the summer that now feels past and turning my attention to the upcoming fall. 

I’m not sure about anyone else, but September always felt like the start of a new year for me. Maybe it’s the start of a new school year, which I dreaded (and then looked forward to as I got older), or the start of a new fall sports season (which always brought me joy), but the fall always felt like more of a page-turning inflection point in my year than January ever did. 

That’s my piece, but we want to hear more from readers about where your head is at with the change of seasons. Let us know in a reply this email, to share the opportunities, activities, and news and we may include some in the newsletter!

As always, we appreciate your input. With that, let’s get on to an election update, and other news and events for your weekend.

— Nate Lewis, Vancity Lookout

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free.

WEATHER

Friday: 19 🌡️ 14 | 🌧️

Saturday: 19 🌡️ 14 | 🌧️

Sunday: 21 🌡️ 14 | 🌤️

Monday: 19 🌡️ 13 | 🌧️

B.C. ELECTION

An election deep dive, as provincial politicking heats up two months out

What happened: With two months to go until the B.C. election, candidates are hitting the campaign trail in earnest, pressing the flesh and making promises as politicians are wont to do. But what to make of those leaders, their promises, and the money behind it all? We’ve got you covered with today’s election roundup.

First up, let’s set the table with the latest polling (which, as always, should be taken with your preferred level of salt). A mid-August poll taken by Mainstreet Research found the B.C. Conservatives have pulled ahead of the B.C. NDP, with 39% for the former and 36% for the latter, among decided voters.

  • B.C. United and the B.C. Greens are jockeying for third place, but with 12% and 11% respectively, neither seem to be in a position to challenge the frontrunners. 

Nine percent of voters remain undecided, according to the poll. 

The leaders: While B.C.’s election campaign doesn’t officially start until Sept. 21, leaders of the four main parties are hard at work, speaking with voters in the community, at places of worship, and at their front doors, according to CBC. 

Premier David Eby of the BC NDP is entering his first election as leader of the party, after he replaced John Horgan in late 2022 following a contentious B.C. NDP leadership nomination process. 

John Rustad of the B.C. Conservatives and Kevin Falcon of B.C. United (formerly the B.C. Liberal party, as they’d like you to know) are also entering their first election as party leaders. Rustad, a long-time B.C. Liberal MLA in northern B.C., was removed from the party by Falcon two years ago, according to the Vancouver Sun. 

  • Rustad became the leader for the provincial Conservatives in early 2023, leading them to a surge in polls, while poaching new candidates and high-profile donors, mostly at the expense of B.C. United.

Sonia Furstenau, the B.C. Green party leader, is changing the riding where she’ll run in 2024, switching from Cowichan Valley to NDP-held Victoria-Beacon Hill. 

Announcements, promises, and nominations: The ruling NDP government has made a few splashy announcements recently, including a heap of money for the continued Highway 1 expansion in the Fraser Valley and funding five new student housing buildings at UBC. 

  • The B.C. Conservatives have mostly focused on announcing new candidates — at 83 candidates so far, they’ve nominated the most of any party — and attacking the NDP government on issues like public safety. 

Meanwhile, B.C. United – who still serve as the Official Opposition despite their poor fortunes of late – is promising to raise the basic personal tax exemption from $12,000 to $50,000, and to (somehow) fund a new North Shore skytrain line and Second Narrows Bridge replacement. 

  • Just yesterday, Falcon’s party said they would improve “tax and regulatory competitiveness” for B.C. mining, using the presumed extra revenues to fund their proposed tax cut. 

With B.C. Green MLA Adam Olsen announcing he won’t be running for re-election, the Green party’s strategy will be to focus on about six ridings where they think they can win, according to CBC.

Follow the money: By law, Elections B.C. has to pay each qualifying political party an annual allowance based on how many votes they received in the previous general election.

  • What it means: With each party receiving $1.81 per vote, parties that perform better in the popular vote get more money to fund their campaign. This year, the B.C. NDP received over $1.62 million, B.C. United got a little more than $1.15 million, the Greens were granted a bit over $500,000, while the Conservatives got just under $65,000, according to Elections B.C.

There’s also data available in terms of personal political donations made at the provincial level. The Investigative Journalism Foundation provides this nifty searchable database with data on political donations made at all levels of Canadian government. 

In B.C., political donations have to be disclosed only if they exceed $250. This year’s provincial political contribution cap is $1,450, with certain exemptions for convention fees. 

  • The B.C. NDP are leading, far and away, in individual donations this year, with 7,719 donations of $500 or more, plus over a million dollars in donations under $250. 

  • Somewhat surprisingly, given their poor polling, B.C. United is second in number of disclosed donors, with 2,837 donations of $300 or more in 2024, plus about $300,000 in donations under $250. 

  • The Conservatives have logged 1,801 donations of $500 or more this year, plus about $330,000 in donations under $250. 

  • The Greens are running fourth this year with 1,160 donations, many of which were disclosed but came in under $250, plus about $270,000 in other donations. 

City connections: Vancity Lookout also took a quick peek to see where Vancouver’s city councillors are (or aren’t) putting their funds in the lead up to the provincial election. The year of each donation cited indicates each councillors’ most recent provincial political donation. 

  • Lenny Zhou: $850 to the B.C. NDP in 2024. 

  • Mike Klassen: An annual B.C. United donor since 2015, Klassen donated $1,050 to the B.C. NDP in 2023 and 2024. 

  • Adriane Carr: $1,010 to the B.C. Green Party in 2024.  

  • Lisa Dominato: $1,898 to B.C. United in 2022.

  • Pete Fry: $1,020 to the B.C. Green Party in 2020. 

Ken Sim, Rebecca Bligh, Christine Boyle, Sarah Kirby-Yung, Peter Meiszner, and Brian Montague have not made any provincial political donations, according to the IJF’s database. 

Dive deeper: If I might be so bold as to recommend another newsletter (gasp), The Tyee has relaunched “The Run, ”their twice-a-week free election-time newsletter. No doubt most of you are familiar with The Tyee and the great work they do, but this is a good follow if you want more election-focused news and analysis over the next two months from their stable of contributors. 

Granville Block Party kicks off tomorrow!

Join us at the intersection of Granville x Robson on August 24th and 25th from 1 PM - 7 PM.

What to Expect:

Live Music: We’ve got an amazing lineup across three stages! Plus, don’t miss curated stage takeovers by Public Disco, Van Vogue Jam, and Locals Lounge.

Delicious Eats & Drinks: Satisfy your taste buds with a variety of restaurants located right on Granville Street. Plus, enjoy beverages from two on-site bars managed by Red Truck Beer Company.

Local Market: Browse unique, handmade goods at the VHS Markets and support local artisans.

Family Fun: Keep the kids entertained with mini golf, arts and crafts workshops, and roving street performers.

Official Afterparty: Continue the festivities from 7 PM onwards at Donnellan’s Irish Pub with drink specials, live music, and more.

For the latest updates and event details, visit here and follow us on Instagram.

Free and open to the public!

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

📉 6: The “gut wrenching” reduction in life expectancy, in years, among First Nations people in B.C., according to a new report. [CBC]

🛴 Sept. 12: The date shared e-scooters will launch 29 stations in Grandview-Woodland and Hastings-Sunrise. The scooters, much like the Mobi bike-share system, will have designated docks for parking and charge per minute. [Vancouver Sun]

🎉 $67,000: The amount 15 colleagues at an Irish bar won, each, after pooling their money and buying a $1 million winning lottery ticket. [CBC]

ARTS SPACE

Narrow Group owner shares model for cost effective artist studios

What happened: The Narrow Group has been leasing and converting large, empty buildings into artist studios for over 20 years. Narrow Group owner and founder David Duprey told Vancity Lookout that his model is really simple and cost-effective. 

The model: “I search for undervalued units, undervalued buildings… I work a lot with developers, people that are planning on knocking down the building, and for them getting any kind of tenant in there that they're going to have to do improvements with… you're not going to do it in the building that potentially could get knocked down in 10 years,” Duprey explained, citing his City Centre Artist Lodge space as a great example of how that model can work. 

  • Duprey currently operates seven buildings, with another on the way, which equals about 250 studios, or arts space, for between 400 and 450 people. They have 0% vacancy at their studios, Duprey said, but post new spaces on Facebook Marketplace and encourage applicants to reach out to them near the end of the month. 

Duprey said he’s able to keep costs down by not hiring consultants or contractors, keeping his operational staff small, and using his experience with navigating various processes at city hall to his advantage. 

Cost comparison: By way of example, Duprey explained his latest studio conversion project – at a 20,000 sq. ft. building downtown at 550 Cambie – will cost between $60,000 and $100,000 to renovate. The new 50-unit studio space will open around the end of October, he said.

  • Duprey pointed out that other organizations creating art spaces in Vancouver – like 221A and BC Artscape – have to rely on funding from various levels of government, to the tune of millions of dollars, because the way those groups are going about creating artist spaces isn’t economically viable and can only create a limited number of spaces. “I don't see 221A being a viable alternative for actually helping artists in the long term,” Duprey said, in response to Vancity Lookout’s previous reporting

“If you're in somewhere like LA or New York or San Francisco, there's a lot of people who are doing my model because it's so easy. But Vancouver is not very entrepreneurial, so there's a few other people doing [it]... the more artists and music places that we can create, I think the better. And if we're waiting for the city, then we are going to be waiting forever,” Duprey said. 

Dive deeper: Caitlin Jones, the former executive director at BC Artscape, wrote a nuanced insider account of her time with the organization, focusing particularly on funding issues. For Duprey, he ultimately believes the provision of arts spaces can be profitable.

THE AGENDA

🙅 The federal government intervened in the rail strike on Thursday — the first day railways across Canada officially closed — by referring the case to the Canada Industrial Relations Board for arbitration. However, there’s no guarantee it will end the strike, and could set a bad precedent for other labour negotiations in future. [CBC]

🚆 Train service on the West Coast Express — which connects downtown Vancouver to the Tri Cities, Pitt Meadows, and goes all the way out to Mission — is suspended until the rail strike ends. [CTV]

🛑 Bumping this one again. You’ll want to avoid the intersection at Oak St. and 70th Avenue if at all possible for the next several days, as sewer upgrade work will cause significant traffic impacts in the area, according to the city. The work is expected to be finished by the evening of Tuesday, August 27. [COV]

👮 Two VPD officers have been charged with assault for an off-duty incident at Isabelle’s Bar in Yaletown in late 2023. One of those officers was investigated, but never charged, in the violent 2015 death of Myles Gray. [Global]

🚶 One Gastown resident loves the walkable streets in the Water St. pedestrian pilot — what do you think? The city is asking for feedback on the project, which ends Sept. 2. [Reddit, COV]

🪧 The Vancouver Tenants Union has relaunched their Marpole chapter and they’re inviting Marpole renters to get involved in their advocacy, education, and organizing efforts. [VTU] 

🏒 Congratulations to Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, who will be featured on the cover of this year’s EA Sports NHL video game. EA has a big presence in the Lower Mainland, with a major headquarters off Willingdon Avenue in Burnaby.

EVENTS

People's Pride Festival @ 648 Arts Society | August 23-25, 7 p.m. | 648 Kingsway | Another Vancouver arts and music is sadly shutting down, but not before they throw a series of goodbye shows | Tickets (price varies)

Granville Block Party | Intersection of Granville and Robson | August 24 & 25, 1 - 7 PM | Join us for a vibrant two-day street festival in the heart of the Granville Entertainment District! This event is free, fully licensed, inclusive and family-friendly. | Learn more [Sponsored]

Eighties Forever | August 23, 10:30 p.m. | Biltmore Cabaret | Always a great dance party, expect great outfits, 80s music, and a wide variety of ages at this lovely event | Tickets $12 

EVO Summer Cinema | August 27, 8 p.m. | Ceperley Meadow (Second Beach field) | Catch The Princess Diaries (the first one) at the final event of the year in Stanley Park | Free

Rent Cheque | August 28, 8 p.m. | Village Studios | The $500 top prize at this famed amateur strip night will cover (some of) your rent. All bodies and genders welcome | PWYC

Deckchair Cinema | August 29, 7 p.m. | Cates Deck (Lonsdale Quay) | Catch the 1979 film “The Warriors” at Deckchair’s last show of the summer season | Admission by donation

Critical Mass | August 30, 6 p.m. | Vancouver Art Gallery | An all-ages and abilities monthly group bike ride and protest, taking cycling to the streets of Vancouver | Free

Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood Defense Block Party | September 2, 3 p.m. | 3075 Prince Edward | Meet your neighbours, eat some food, listen to music, and build tenant power with the Prince Edward Renters Collective | Free

Future Islands | September 10 & 11 | Malkin Bowl | Back to back shows as the synth-pop band kicks off their North America tour in Vancouver | Tickets $60

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Dating in Vancouver can be tough these days, and the apps aren’t necessarily helping, but one columnist has some suggestions to help shift the tide. [Georgia Straight]

  • Watch Tron: Legacy at the VIFF Centre's newly upgraded theatre on Saturday with a special panel discussion featuring the film's sound crew. [Sponsored]

  • This Korean and Northern Chinese BBQ spot is worth a visit.

  • Call it brave or idiotic, this is certainly not a nice place to be on an e-scooter. [Reddit]

GAME TIME

Congrats to Pegi and Marina, who both guessed the Vancouver Guesser was the Pacific Coliseum.

Today’s Vancouver Wordle is a double entendre related to a recent weather event and news of the day. Can you work out what it is?

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