Former conservation officer Bryce Casavant will seek the provincial NDP nomination in Oak Bay-Gordon Head.
BC NDP Leader John Horgan made the announcement this morning (Wednesday, Jan 11) at The Oaks Restaurant in Oak Bay village.
“Bryce Casavant is a born-and-raised Vancouver Islander who has what it takes to build a better B.C.,” Horgan said. “He has a proven record of standing up to Christy Clark and we’re excited he wants to be a part of the BC NDP team in Oak Bay-Gordon Head.”
Originally planned to run for the Courtenay-Comox nomination, the move was initiated by Casavant, who felt comfortable there would be NDP success in Courtenay-Comox, Horgan said.
“He had been contacted by residents here in Oak Bay-Gordon Head. When he stood up to the BC Liberals and exercised his authority as a conservation officer as he was obliged to do, the vast amount of support for him on the Island came from the Capital Regional District,” Horgan said. “I’m delighted to have someone of Bryce’s calibre on my ticket here on Vancouver Island. We’re both born-and-raised Islanders, we want to sweep the Island and that means Oak Bay-Gordon Head as well.”
Casavant became well known as the conservation officer who was suspended after refusing to shoot a pair of orphaned bear cubs in July 2015. The move, he said, was a response to requests and strong support from area residents since then.
Casavant withdrew from the Courteneay-Comox riding where he lives, and plans to move to this riding. He is working on his doctorate at Royal Roads University with a focus on solving human-wildlife conflict.
During the announcement, he was questioned on a top local issue, controlling deer population, and in particular a stance on culling.
“This is a very complex situation and I do believe together we can build a comprehensive wildlife coexistence plan.
A coexistence plan has many parts to it, one of those parts is euthanization, but there are also other strategies that go into a comprehensive plan.”
Should Casavant earn the BC NDP nomination, he would face current MLA Andrew Weaver of the Green party and Liberal candidate Alex Dutton. A date for the nomination vote has not been set.
Weaver was named Green candidate for Oak Bay-Gordon Head in August. Weaver has represented the riding since 2013.
Born and raised in Oak Bay, Dutton was named Liberal candidate for Oak Bay-Gordon Head in December.
