And they are off.
Candidates competing in the three provincial ridings that cover Saanich have hit the ground running since the writ dropped Tuesday.
Saanich South has the largest number of declared candidates among local ridings with five.
Lana Popham will be seeking to retain the seat for the New Democrats against Liberal candidate David Calder, a former Olympic-medal winning rower, and the Green Party’s Mark Neufeld, a teacher at Claremont Secondary School and social activist.
Popham will be looking for a third straight victory, after she had won the riding by two per cent in 2009 and 10 per cent in 2013. Also running are Andrew McLean for the B.C. Libertarian Party and Richard Pattee for the Vancouver Island Party.
All five candidates plan to attend an all-candidates meeting April 26 at Claremont secondary school co-sponsored by the Blenkinsop Valley Community Association, Broadmead Area Residents’ Association and the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs.
As provincial leader of the B.C. Greens, Andrew Weaver stands to draw the most attention in Oak Bay - Gordon Head amidst polls that show provincial support for the Greens in the mid-teens across Vancouver Island and the province.
An Insights West survey shows Weaver with a personal approval rating of 35 per cent, five per cent of Premier Christy Clark and two per cent behind New Democratic leader John Horgan, whose party also leads early polls.
Challenging Weaver in the local riding are B.C. Liberal Alex Dutton, an Oak-Bay-born Victoria-based lawyer, and New Democrat Bryce Casavant, a former conservation officer who made provincial news for his refusal to shoot a pair of orphaned bear cubs.
This trio has already publicly clashed last month during a forum at the University of Victoria and the tone of the debate suggested that Dutton and Casavant believe each could upset Weaver, who won the riding by 11 per cent in 2013 against former Saanich councillor and Liberal MLA Ida Chong, who had held the riding for nearly 17 years.
Based on past results, Rob Fleming appears favoured to retain Victoria Swan Lake for the New Democrats. Fleming first won the riding by margins of 34 and 31 per cent in 2009 and 2013 respectively.
Running against Fleming are B.C. Green Chris Maxwell and BC Liberal Stacey Piercey. Maxwell is an associate professor, scientist and co-lead of the childhood cancer and blood research group at B.C. Children’s Hospital. Piercey is business owner and human rights advocate, who has worked with a number of organizations speaking on behalf of LGTBQ including Saanich’s Healthy Saanich LGBTQ Sub-Committee, and the Greater Victoria School District on its Gender Identity and Expression Policy. Piercey was among the last candidates the B.C. Liberals nominated.
British Columbians head to the polls on May 9, with 87 seats up for grabs, two more than in 2013 thanks to redistribution based on population growth.