FORSETH: Will BC lead Canada's journey away from political woke-ism?

The election in British Columbia is of national interest for a number of reasons, not least the profound cultural shift it represents. At a basic level, it proves that there is "pushback" to cultural socialism and "wokeism," the implementation of which have had unsavoury consequences..FORSETH: Tide is turning blue in BC.A similar shift is taking shape at the federal level and abroad, with many Europeans ditching their nations' far-left parties in favour of less "woke" alternatives.In BC, with the polls favouring the Conservatives, David Eby and the NDP have gone for broke, promising not only the whole store but even the warehouse in an effort to buy voters off. The BC Conservatives have responded with a more measured form of tax relief with the "Rustad Rebate." However, Rustad has been careful not to fall into a bidding war with Eby since voters know that everything the NDP promises will be achieved with money borrowed from them.Despite the fact that BC is on track to become the biggest debtor province in Canada, Eby doubled down on his fiscal policy during the televised leaders’ debate, committing to more spending. He claimed people "need the help now," but offered little in terms of a financial plan for the future.Underneath the arguments about program spending and health care delivery failures, however, there is a subtext of morally-loaded issues such as abortion, sex education, cancel culture, and denialism.While BC politicians have been putting emphasis on bread-and-butter issues such as housing, the carbon tax, and hospital closures, the rocky shoals onto which the political ships crash, are littered with moral issues.Hot-button topics like BC's sexual orientation, gender and identity (SOGI) school curriculum, abortion access, the upholding of religious values and the fundamental right to say things that some might find offensive, have been simmering in the buildup to the election.The demise of the once-dominant BC United-Liberals, who tried to be somewhat "progressive" in the culture war, made it a two-party race with the NDP and Conservatives decidedly on opposite sides of the woke spectrum. Although Rustad was once a member of the Liberals, his departure proved he would not put up with nonsense, andwould defend the right of others to say what they believed.In September, he appeared on a podcast with world-renowned Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, who first entered the spotlight for opposing "compelled speech." Their conversation provided British Columbians with an uncensored view into Rustad's mind.The NDP have referred to Rustad and his candidates as “wing nuts,” “dangerous,” “weird,” “anti-abortion,” “homophobic,” “crackpots,” “bigoted” and “hateful," while the Conservatives have deemed Eby and his team to be “radical,” “woke,” “sexualizing education,” “hardcore socialists," “authoritarians,” “liars" and enemies free speech.Rustad has been compared to Donald Trump, with the NDP fear mongering that the Conservatives would follow the Republicans' lead and seek to crack down on abortion. No one believes it, and Eby has ended up looking silly and desperate. Everybody knows it is standard Conservative policy in Canada not to open up that debate. What is true however, is that the NDP has promoted sexualized materials in the kindergarten to Grade 12 school system. Rustad has made it clear he will not stand for that, defending parents upset over what their children are learning.The NDP has accused BC Conservatives of being bigoted and even white supremacists, yet Rustad's party has the same proportion of candidates who are people of colour as their rivals, and are polling well in majority-non-white communities.Rustad and his team have not been afraid to call out hate where others have failed. His condemnation of the anti-Israel hate rally that took place in Vancouver on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks for example, was by far the strongest of any leader in the province. He has long accused the NDP of not doing enough to protect Jewish people, highlighting the fact that former NDP cabinet minister Selina Robinson, who is Jewish, left the party after saying the same thing.Rustad's response to the NDP's obsession with cancel culture is a powerful reaffirmation of freedom of speech, the core principle that forms the bedrock of democratic society. He has emphasised that free speech must allow for speech that some might find offensive, a message that has earned him praise.Rustad's views, not Eby's, are in line with those of British Columbians. A Macdonald-Laurier Institute study recently found that residents of the province have grown weary of wokeness and are pushing back.University of Buckingham professor Eric Kaufmann noted that three in four British Columbians surveyed believed political correctness had gone too far, and that two in three said that there was too much discussion surrounding transgenderism and race.The phrase 'culture war' refers to the tension between cultural Marxism, which prioritises equal outcomes and protection from emotional harm, and conservatism, which champions free speech, objective truth, due process, and national heritage.In Canada and the United States, academic, cultural, and political institutions began their shift to cultural Marxism around 2014, and we have been trying to find our way back to sanity ever since. A few powerfully bad ideas, propelled through institutions by people with good intentions, caused systemic dysfunction and dangerous polarisation. There is a way out; the most fundamental way to defend our basic freedoms is at the ballot box. It appears as though in BC, many are heeding that call, and taking the opportunity to vote Conservative, against leftist coercion and for the defence of basic freedoms.

FORSETH: Will BC lead Canada's journey away from political woke-ism?

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