British Columbia NDP leader Adrian Dix in Vancouver, September 18, 2013.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
November 08, 2013 - 1:28 PM
B.C. NEW DEMOCRATS FIND UNINSPIRING CAMPAIGN, LEADER SCANDAL TO BLAME
VANCOUVER - British Columbia's New Democrats have completed a party post-mortem on what went wrong in the provincial election earlier this year, when the heavily favoured NDP ended up with a surprising loss.
A report released Friday says the NDP campaign made several missteps, including its failure to portray the Liberal government in a negative light.
The 19-page report says a party leader is the party brand, and it notes that a memo scandal involving NDP Leader Adrian Dix became a focus of the campaign.
And it points out that the New Democrats had a "cautious and uninspiring" focus to their campaign.
The five-member panel heard from more than 3,000 people but the panel didn't get to have a look at the campaign strategy, which was not handed over.
Still, review panel chairwoman Cindy Oliver says there is much to be learned from the unexpected loss, and the report makes 47 recommendations to be explored before the next provincial election in 2017.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013