Opinion: 3 Things You Can’t Complain About Ever Again if You Vote Liberal in Vancouver Granville

In the 2019 federal election, one of the most hotly contested ridings in the country was Vancouver Granville. The massive district goes all the way from Second Avenue to the southernmost edge of the city, between Main and Arbutus streets.

Needless to say, there’s a wide range of individuals who call that stretch of land home. In 2019, incumbent MP Jody Wilson-Raybould ran as an Independent and won with just over 32 percent of the vote, topping Liberal Taleeb Noormohamed (26 percent) and Conservative Zach Segal (22 percent).

Wilson-Raybould isn’t running this time around, but the riding is once again in the national spotlight. That’s because it was recently reported that tech executive Noormohamed has bought and sold at least 21 homes within a year of buying them since 2005.

With the Liberals promising to tackle housing affordability (I guess they just didn’t feel like addressing the issue during the four years they held a majority?), the party has made cracking down on house flipping a priority in its platform. If that seems hypocritical… well, it is. And the party hasn’t addressed Noormohamed’s status at all.

Now, we don’t have a political horse in this race. And we’re certainly not telling you how to vote. We’re also not advocating for any other party (or even against the Liberals).

But we do think it’s important to underline some things you can’t complain about anymore if you vote for the Liberals in Vancouver Granville.

Anything to do with real estate in Vancouver

Yep, sorry to break it to you. A vote cast for the Libs in Van Gran means you’re no longer allowed to complain about real estate in Vancouver. Not the prices, not speculators—none of it.

So when you’re talking to your friend from Calgary and they mention how they’ve just secured a spacey four-bedroom in the city for $300,000, you’re legally mandated to sit there and nod along.

That’s okay though, right? You can still talk about stuff. Like, uh… the rain! Yeah, it rains a lot still! And maybe the coyotes will continue to be a problem?

Politicians not answering the questions they’re asked

Look, all politicians do this. I think it’s actually one of the pillars they teach you in Politician School.

But any neutral observer knows that Trudeau has made a career out of it. He’s so skilled at deflecting questions that at the end of his answer you can’t even remember what the original question was.

And he’s continued that, not answering questions about Noormohamed’s house-flipping practices even as his government has proposed legislation to stop that very thing.

For his part, Noormohamed is learning from the best, as evidenced in this CTV interview.

But it’s funny, after voting Liberal in Van Gran you actually like it when politicians go to their planned talking points instead of answering questions. Weird how that happens.

Snap elections

This one isn’t really specific to Vancouver Granville, but for the country as a whole. Liberal leader Justin Trudeau didn’t really have any reason to call an election, other than that the polls indicated the timing was convenient (much like current B.C. premier John Horgan).

Neither of these men or their supporters have any right to criticize snap elections at the worst possible time.

And, of course, if we get another minority and are back at the polls in two years time, you know what to do: smile and nod.