B.C. Conservatives push out Surrey and South Asian voters in leadership race
SURREY—The B.C. Conservative Party has made several choices that reduce the influence of Surrey, and South Asian voters in particular, in their leadership race.
This includes disqualifying South Asian members, not hosting an in-person membership verification site in Surrey, and a weighted voting scheme that reduces the value of votes in Surrey.
“We’re at that part of the BC Conservative leadership campaign where the culling of new South Asian members begins, for a variety of manufactured reasons,” posted radio host Jas Johal, providing an email of a member being disqualified from voting without any explanation. “Once the race ends, the pandering to the community will resume right on schedule.”
Johal said South Asian voters are being treated as “second-class citizens.”
“A party that calls itself a government-in-waiting should have no problem being transparent,” he continued. “Release the numbers. How many members were cancelled? For what reasons? Not all members are equal it seems, some are welcomed, others treated like second-class citizens.”
The B.C. Conservatives have announced 10 sites for in-person membership verification. None are in Surrey, despite the community representing nearly 20 per cent of the B.C. Conservative membership.
The party’s weighted voting scheme also makes an individual vote from smaller communities like Prince Rupert worth ten times more than a vote in Surrey.
“This is a pattern of choices that limit the influence of Surrey and South Asian voters in the leadership vote,” said Jessie Sunner, MLA for Surrey-Newton, “Why do the B.C. Conservatives ask for our community’s votes at election time and then cut us out when it’s time to pick a leader?”
This comes after Interim Leader Trevor Halford praised the work of the Western Standard, a far-right website that advocates for the deportation of millions of Canadian citizens based solely on their Indian heritage.
“I’ve heard from people who voted B.C. Conservative who are disappointed with the way their party has treated our community since then,” said Sunner. “It’s outrageous to see the B.C. Conservatives backing racist websites and content creators and disqualifying voters without explanation.”
“It’s hard not to notice the pattern: they come to Surrey and our South Asian community when it’s convenient, and then return to pandering to racist platforms and the extreme right wing of their party once they’ve gotten what they need.”