“I love British Columbia. I love this country. I will always defend a united Canada.”

VANCOUVER – As Albertans vote today on whether to start down the road to leaving Canada, BC NDP Leader David Eby is sending a message of friendship to Alberta and a reminder to British Columbians that a united country is something every leader has to stand up for.

“I love British Columbia. I love this country,” said Eby. “To everyone in Alberta: we share families, jobs, a border and a lot of history. You have real frustrations with Ottawa, and so do we sometimes. That’s Canada. We argue, and we stay together. Whatever happens tonight, you’re our neighbours and our family, and this country is better with you in it.”

Eby said the politics that brought Canada to this moment can take hold anywhere.

“Nobody wakes up one day and decides to put their country on the ballot,” said Eby. “It starts when fringe ideas get treated as normal, enabled by leaders who won’t take a clear stand against them.”

Eby said British Columbians have already seen that pattern. In February, BC Conservative MLAs voted to debate abolishing BC’s Human Rights Code and the Human Rights Tribunal. That is the law that protects people from being fired, paid less or denied a home because of their race, faith, gender or who they love.

“Human rights should never be up for debate,” said Eby.

Interim BC Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson claims he disagrees with some of his candidates’ views - but won’t remove them. They include a candidate who thinks being gay is “immoral” and who said “Eby needs to comply” with Donald Trump’s demands, and another who shared a map of western Canada as a “protectorate of the United States.”

“I know where I stand, and where everyone running with me stands. I will always celebrate a united Canada, defend public health care, protect the rights of every British Columbian, and stand up to Donald Trump when he comes after our jobs. The Conservative candidates can’t say the same. That’s the choice on October 24.”