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Amanda Poon doesn't mind running against the odds. So this 2020 campaign for the Greens in Kelowna-Mission feels right to her.
"The Green Party is often described as the underdog party," she said. "Sonia is the underdog leader, and I definitely identify with that."
Poon sees the snap election as an act of pure strategy by John Horgan.
In Kelowna-Mission, the election call forced Liberals to appoint a successor to Liberal MLA Steve Thomson without a nomination vote, and the NDP in the riding were also caught flat-footed.
"The NDP themselves have put out a paper candidate who's not even campaigning," she said. Poon is referring to Krystal Smith, who lives in Metro Vancouver.
"When I heard that this election was going to be handed over without a democratic election, I decided I would run," she said.
"I believe these positions of power should be earned in a democratic electoral process."
Despite being part of a governing partnership with the NDP over the past three years, the Green Party has sagged slightly in recent polls.
Poon chalks it up to the rising popularity of the NDP which is generally seen to have done well in handling the pandemic, which is why we now have an election.
"I think the NDP have taken advantage of this moment where their popularity has escalated," she said.
She said the Liberals can be influenced by big business and big labour, while the Greens are free of those affiliations while setting policy.
"We want community-based solutions, not lobbyist-based solutions," said Poon.
The Green Party is often seen as left-leaning politically, but she calls it centrist.
"There are good ideas on the NDP side and there are some good ideas on the BC Liberals side", she concedes.
But as for climate change, Poon suggests the Green Party is the only party that is staying focused.
"Even in the last three years the Green Party has been adamant about staying on track to meet our target to reduce our emissions," she said. "And we are not on track whatsoever."
British Columbians go to the polls October 24.
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