B.C. Hydro is not for sale. He said the only party that had talked about selling the Crown corporation was the NDP at a cabinet meeting last summer. With the Liberals holding a huge lead in opinion polls, Green Leader Adriane Carr appeared to be campaigning for Opposition status, saying the province needs a strong opposition and the Green party has a strong slate of principled candidates and a full and comprehensive platform. Recent polls indicated NDP support at 16 per cent while the Greens had surged to 10 per cent. B.C. Unity is about bringing all of the people together to chart a new direction, one that replaces the love of power with the power of love, love for our families, our communities and our province.
Debates have the potential to influence voters and shift campaign momentum.
It happened in 1991 in British Columbia when former Liberal leader Gordon Wilson, now an NDP cabinet minister, managed to upstage the main combatants with a cutting comment that hit home with voters. Voters liked what they heard and nine days later catapulted Wilson's Liberals to official Opposition status with 17 seats. But University of Victoria political scientist Michael Prince said he didn't detect anything resembling a knockout punch delivered by any of the four Monday. It might move the polls a point or two, but Dosanjh has to move up six to eight points to get to 20 and be a credible opposition. Dosanjh appeared to be challenging Campbell throughout the debate and many times he turned and faced the Liberal leader when answering questions.