The B.C. NDP's Josie Osborne has been re-elected in the Mid Island-Pacific Rim riding for the 2024 provincial election.
With all 32 of 32 ballot boxes counted (including nine advance polls), Osborne has received 48.52 percent of the votes. Conservative candidate Adam Hayduk has received 39.78 percent of votes and Green Party candidate Ross Reid has received 11.70 percent of votes. There were 28,004 total ballots cast in the riding with out of district ballots in progress.
While Osborne was re-elected in her riding, it was unclear even Sunday afternoon whether her party would be in power in B.C. or not. There was no clear winner announced Saturday night with the leadership race remaining neck-and-neck between B.C. NDP Leader David Eby and B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad. As of Sunday afternoon neither party had secured the 47 ridings needed to form a majority government in the 93-seat legislature.
At a watch party in Port Alberni on Saturday, Oct. 19, Osborne thanked her campaign team for their work throughout the election — and also thanked the Mid Island-Pacific Rim people for their support.
“This election is about how I’m working for people and the trust that’s been placed back in me to continue representing people in this riding,” she said. “I’m going to continue to work so hard for people.”
Osborne was first elected to the B.C. Legislature in 2020, after serving as mayor of Tofino for more than seven years. She said she enjoyed getting out on the ground and door-knocking this time around. During her previous campaign in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was still in full force and she was limited by health restrictions.
“It makes a huge difference to be able to talk to people face-to-face and hear their stories,” she said. “We heard from people about all of the things they care about, from healthcare, affordable housing, affordability, the toxic drug crisis —things that are making a big impact on people’s lives.”
Hayduk watched the results roll in from a watch party at Port Alberni’s Boston Pizza. He said he began his journey into politics two and a half years ago.
“I started to notice a rise in homelessness and open drug use (in Port Alberni),” he said. “I know some of the people working on the ground and they were frustrated. I started to educate myself about some of the policies that might be contributing to that. Over the last eight, nine months I had other personal experiences with friends that are either sheriffs or police, teachers…for me it was just one thing after the other that led to frustration."
Hayduk lived in the Alberni Valley for nearly seven years working with the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs. He still has friends and family here. Hayduk said he and his family return to the riding “quite often.” Hayduk, whose career up to now has been with hockey in various capacities, says he transitioned out of the sport in August. This is his first foray into politics.
“I stepped up because I didn’t think the riding has been getting a fair representation and respect since about 2015," he said. “People’s lives have been significantly impacted over the last four years. I don’t think I was prepared to hear some of the stories at the doors.”
Hayduk said the experience has been positive, and he was met with more support than he anticipated in what he called an “NDP stronghold.” He congratulated Osborne on a "well-run" campaign.
Ross Reid, running for the B.C. Greens, said he was happy with the overall results of the election even though he finished a distant third in the riding. "Provincially, we've done a good thing with a minority holding the balance apart from the major parties."
He said while he respects Josie Osborne and thinks she "is going to continue to do great things for the riding," he wants to hold her accountable. Reid lives in Ucluelet, where there is "a massive wealth gap" between the tourists and people with second homes who can afford to live there, and the working class. He says Osborne has neglected a large part of the working class in the riding who are struggling with housing and other issues such as the toxic drug crisis and crime, particularly in Port Alberni and the east side of Vancouver Island.
"She really needs to look at the ramifications of the model she's created...We need to get back to a place where the average working person can afford a home," he said. "There's been so much focus on keeping the rich rich, and ticking the boxes on the lower classes. She needs to put more effort into addressing social inequality."
Provincial results were still rolling in on Saturday night, with the race too close to call. Osborne says that if the B.C. NDP says forms government again, they’ll be “right back at work, right away.” But she wasn't too surprised to see that it was a tight race.
“Things are tough for a lot of people out there, and sometimes in that case, people are looking for change,” she said. “But I think people see that we’re heading in the right direction.”
The 2024 Student Vote this year elected a B.C. NDP minority government, with the B.C. Conservative Party forming the official opposition. In Mid Island-Pacific Rim, students re-elected Osborne.
But at Alberni District Secondary School in Port Alberni, the 2024 Student Vote was won by the Conservatives, with Hayduk receiving 262 votes compared to Osborne’s 168 votes. Reid received 111 votes from ADSS students.
"I found that debate at the high school extremely rewarding," Hayduk said. "It was great to see how tough the questions were.
" I think what you're going to see is that more younger people in the elections coming up will be more engaged."
