The Rural BC Party is a defunct minor

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The party was co-founded in 2018 by

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

councillor Jonathan Van Barneveld and then-mayor of Telkwa Darcy Repen. The party's stated objective was to provide representation and support to people living in rural areas of British Columbia, believing that the province's more major parties focus excessively on urban areas. The party voluntarily deregistered on August 15, 2023.

Policies

The Rural BC Party's main focus is on representing the needs of British Columbians in rural areas, with the party itself stating that the province's main political parties focus far too heavily on urban areas, such as those around

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Victoria, and

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

. One of the Rural BC Party's goals is to elect members to the Legislative Assembly representing a constituency rather than a party.

Electoral performance

At the Rural BC Party's inception in 2018, the party intended to nominated candidates for the planned 2021 election only in the 23 rural ridings (e.g. those outside of the

Greater Vancouver Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The term "Greater Vancouver" is roughly coterminous with the geographic area governed b ...

, Fraser Valley, southern

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

and

). In 2018, some analysts theorized that the Rural BC Party's creation could pose a threat to the support of the

British Columbia Liberal Party The British Columbia Liberal Party, often shortened to the BC Liberals, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition. Subsequent to the 2020 Br ...

in rural areas. When a snap election was called by British Columbia premier

John Horgan John Joseph Horgan (born August 7, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 36th premier of British Columbia from 2017 to 2022, and also as the leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party from 2014 to 2022. Horgan has been the ...

in September 2020 however, the party struggled to organize candidates in the time given. The party's only nomination in the 2020 provincial general election was within the Stikine electoral district with one of the party's co-founders, Darcy Repen. The Rural BC Party received 754 votes within the Stikine riding, earning them 10.42% of the popular vote there and qualified them for the provincial vote subsidy.

Provincial elections

References

External links

* {{British Columbia provincial political parties Provincial political parties in British Columbia Political parties established in 2018 Political parties disestablished in 2023 2018 establishments in British Columbia

Policies

Electoral performance

Provincial elections

See also

References

External links