If it was up to Campbell River high school students, the Liberal Party’s Nick Facey would be the North Island’s new MLA while local elementary schools voted with their adult counterparts for the NDP’s Claire Trevena.
Cedar, Pinecrest and École des Deux Mondes elementary schools, along with Timberline Secondary School, on Monday and Tuesday joined schools across B.C. in voting in their own provincial elections.
“Elementary and high school students across the province participated in Student Vote – a parallel election program coinciding with the British Columbia provincial election,” said Kate Fang of Student Vote/CIVIX, a national charity aimed at encouraging young Canadians to participate in their democracy. “After learning about the democratic process, researching the party platforms, hosting candidate forums and debating the future of British Columbia, students cast their ballots for local candidates.”
A total of 376 students cast ballots at Timberline, with Facey coming out as the winner with 175 votes, edging out incumbent and winner of the actual election, Trevena, who had 145 votes. Bob Bray of the Conservatives received 56 votes from high school students.
At Cedar school, Trevena came out on top with 13 votes, Facey was second with two and Bray got one vote. Students at Pinecrest school threw 22 votes Trevena’s way while Facey received 14 votes and Bray got eight.
Thirty-two students in the École des Deux Mondes francophone program also participated in the student vote, with 19 students electing Trevena, while nine voted for Facey and four voted for Bray.
Overall, Trevena was elected on the North Island with 334 votes, Facey was second with 299 and Bray came in third with 113 votes. A total of 746 students cast votes from 11 participating schools in the region.
Across the province, nearly 100,000 votes were reported from 666 schools representing 85 electoral divisions across the province.
Students elected an NDP government and a Liberal opposition. The NDP won 53 seats, forming a majority government, and captured 38.55 per cent of the popular vote. Leader Adrian Dix won his seat in Vancouver-Kingsway, receiving 59.52 per cent of the vote. The students’ vote nearly reflected Tuesday’s actual election, with Dix winning his seat with 63 per cent of the vote.
The Liberals took 20 seats in the student election and 28.09 per cent of the popular vote. Premier Christy Clark lost in her Vancouver-Point Grey riding, receiving 28.50 per cent of the student vote, while NDP challenger David Eby received 40.42 per cent of the vote.
Again, the student election mirrored reality with Eby unseating Clark by 785 votes.
Students had the Green Party winning eight seats and capturing 17.28 per cent of the popular vote, with Green Party Leader Jane Sterk winning her seat in Victoria-Beacon Hill. The BC Conservatives won no seats in the student vote.