Decafnation recommends Will Cole-Hamilton for Courtenay-Comox riding

Decafnation wholeheartedly recommends voters choose Will Cole-Hamilton to represent the Courtenay-Comox riding in the Provincial Legislature.

Cole-Hamilton, a law school graduate, former small business owner and two-term Courtenay City Council member, is running on the New Democratic Party ticket. He is by far the most qualified candidate.

During his recent City Council term, Cole-Hamilton chaired the B.C. delegation of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and was instrumental in creating the group’s first-ever policy on Department of Defense issues. Municipalities are often under pressure to make costly changes to accommodate DND activities, like expansions that come with a cost to local taxpayers.

Cole-Hamilton’s policy created a National Task Force to help municipalities like Courtenay and Comox get a fair deal with the DND.

That’s going to be important as the Comox Valley prepares for a $3 billion expansion at CFB Comox. His provincial and federal contacts and credentials position him to help local governments and businesses navigate this major change.

And, he has proven his expertise in government finances and his environmentalist sensibilities during his eight years serving the City of Courtenay.

We could go on about his personal qualifications, but there is another important reason to vote for Cole-Hamilton: To ensure this swing riding does not help the dangerous BC Conservative Party from forming the next provincial government.

Conservative Party incumbent MLA Brennan Day won in 2024 by just 93 votes, 13,481 to Ronn-Rae Leonard’s 13,388. The Green Party candidate, Arzeena Hamir, finished a distant third with 7,202 votes.

THE CONS ARE DANGEROUS

But this isn’t the same Conservative Party of two years ago. Since then, the Cons have been hijacked by a Maple-MAGA hard-right contingent that no longer represents small-c conservative values.

At the riding’s only all-candidates forum, Cole-Hamilton showed his calm, patient and thoughtful nature. He focused on the future. By comparison, his opponent Brennan Day expressed anger, was antagonistic and focused on the past.

Day didn’t talk about what a Conservative BC government would do, because it’s not appealing. If you help to elect Day, here’s the kind of values you’ll be supporting, expressed by his colleagues:

Sheldon Clare said local politicians “need hanging.” Kristina Loewen compared pandemic rules to the Holocaust. Sharon Hartwell said the 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump. Bryan Tepper said the Jan. 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol was a “lie.” David Willians shared a map of Western Canada as a U.S. protectorate.

The list of shocking statements by Day’s Conservative colleagues is long, and they reveal the party’s strong contingent of Trucker Convoy and Maple-MAGA mentality.

This Conservative Party introduced a bill to repeal the BC Human Rights Code. All Conservatives voted for it. It failed because the NDP and Green voted against it, but if Day and the Conservative Party are elected, they will toss out human rights in this province.

The Conservatives have pledged to prohibit public schools from offering sexual health education programs, such as SOGI. They want cops in schools, against the advice of the BC Civil Liberties Association, who believe it impacts marginalized and disabled students and potentially escalates behavioral issues. The party’s leader promises to repeal the provincial DRIPA on day one. 

Since his Conservative Party imploded with dysfunction and allegations of racism, homophobia and residential school denialism, Day has presented a ‘moderate’ image in the Comox Valley. But driving around in an EV car doesn’t change the fact that he has aligned himself with a hard-right movement that mostly still doesn’t believe in climate science or vaccines.

Elect Day and the Conservative Party and you’ll also kiss ICBC goodbye. During his campaign in 2024, Day promoted his party’s plan to eliminate the ICBC monopoly on car insurance by opening the market up to private insurance.

Even if they don’t completely eliminate ICBC, insurance rates will skyrocket because the party plans to kill the current no-fault insurance system. It will be a gift to personal injury lawyers who will once again bilk ICBC with no significant benefit to the majority of vehicle owners.

Since the Horgan NDP government stabilized the Crown Corporation finances and Eby’s administration introduced the no-fault plan, rates have been frozen for seven years. Yet, in 2024, Day called ICBC a failed experiment. 

Even if you’re feeling critical of the NDP, this version of the BC Conservative Party is the worst-case scenario for British Columbians. And a vote for the Green Party in this riding is a vote that helps them get elected.

IT’S THE MONEY, HONEY

The Green Party’s logic is baffling. Why do they field candidates in swing ridings like Courtenay-Comox where they guarantee a Conservative Party victory? It makes no sense, unless it’s a money grab. The Green Party gets an “annual allowance” distributed by Elections BC, a per-vote subsidy. The amount is calculated on the percentage of valid votes their endorsed candidates win in the election and was pegged at $1.89 per vote in 2026. The more candidates, the more votes, the bigger the party’s annual allowance.

Still, why not just run candidates in ridings where the Conservative are less strong. In some ridings, voting Green might be the correct strategic vote. But not here.

Marking your ballot for the Green Party candidate in Courtenay-Comox is a wasted vote. It achieves nothing – the Greens have no hope of winning this riding. And it hurts the greenest candidate running – Will Cole-Hamilton.

In fact, a vote for the Green Party in Courtenay-Comox riding only benefits the BC Conservative Party.