There’s an old saying about politics that rookie BC Conservatives might want to brush up on: “If you’re explaining, you’re losing.”
Five Conservative MLAs found that out the hard way Tuesday, as they tried to dig themselves out of a public opinion crater after voting against an NDP motion to condemn U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
They apparently all had reasons, mainly centred around opposing Canadian counter-tariffs. But only one of the five spoke publicly before voting — and that MLA, Peace River North’s Jordan Kealy, flipped his vote at the last second anyway.
The result was an information vacuum for a full evening and into the following morning, as constituents struggled to understand reports that five MLAs voted in favour of Trump at the legislature, while New Democrats blanketed social media with accusations that Conservatives were traitors to Team Canada.
Eventually, Conservative MLAs went online to make belated declarations of support for Canada and denounce Trump. Yet they mostly sounded like excuses, as late explanations tend to do once you’ve already lost control of the narrative.
By the time three of the five MLAs were chased down for comment at the legislature the next day, they were facing a steep uphill battle to get their message out no matter how persuasive their arguments might have been.
“My perspective was that I’m completely against the tariffs, but I want to see better diplomacy from our leaders when it comes to other countries and our strongest trading partner,” Kealy told reporters.
He outlined, quite eloquently actually, how farmers like himself end up not only hit by tariffs but also the counter-tariffs on the things they need to run their farms.
Surrey South MLA Brent Chapman said he supported denouncing Trump, but opposed the second half of the NDP motion, which called on MLAs to also support the provincial response to ban liquor produced in Republican-held U.S. states.
“If it had stopped at the idea of just the tariffs, I think I might have been OK with that,” Chapman said. “But when we go farther to start singling out particular political parties, why are you politicizing something?”
Chilliwack North MLA Heather Maahs said the NDP motion was flawed, and everyone knew it, but only a handful of MLAs were compelled to act.
“At the end of the day, I had to decide what was best for my constituents, [and] how they would want me to vote,” she said.
The other two MLAs of the five — Vancouver-Quilchena’s Dallas Brodie and Kelowna-Lake Country’s Tara Armstrong — avoided reporters, though Armstrong took to social media to write: “OF COURSE I’m against the tariffs. I’m also against the NDP now deciding to wrap themselves in the Canadian flag, call themselves Team Canada and engage in more divisive political theatre.”
Conservative whip Bruce Banman tried playing mop-up, admitting the NDP motion was a political trap but defending the right of MLAs to fall prey to it under Leader John Rustad’s new promise to allow free votes.
“What you saw for the first time in a long time was MLAs vote with their conscience and were given the right to vote the way they wanted,” said Banman.
The Conservatives also focused some of the blame on the media — the perennial whipping boy for any politician who makes a mistake, doesn’t understand why and can’t reflect inward to learn lessons.
“We’re taking a different stance, and the media is going to have to get used to this,” said Banman.
Conservative communications director Brad Zubyk questioned the “hysterical reaction” of the media to the Trump vote — as if the same number of legislature journalists, who each day question New Democrat ministers, briefly asking questions of the supposed government-in-waiting Opposition MLAs is somehow grossly unfair.
Both portrayed the Trump vote as the new normal for the Conservative party.
They better hope not, though. Because while free votes might be something the Conservatives can one day brag about, the tardy, defensive, blundering way they pulled off their first one was anything but a success.
Rob Shaw has spent more than 17 years covering B.C. politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for Glacier Media. He is the co-author of the national bestselling book A Matter of Confidence, host of the weekly podcast Political Capital, and a regular guest on CBC Radio.
