Senator Bernie Sanders argues the Democratic party, once the party of the working class, began courting wealthy donors in the 1970s. This strategic shift led them to neglect core economic issues, causing their traditional base to feel alienated and vote for candidates like Donald Trump.

In British Columbia, organized Indigenous groups hold significant political sway that extends beyond Indigenous issues. The provincial government consults them as a moral authority on a wide range of topics, effectively granting them powerful influence over policy and personnel decisions.

In a surprising move, the BC Conservatives appointed Alia Warbus, an Indigenous transgender activist, as their House Leader. This highlights the immense pressure within BC's political landscape for all parties, regardless of ideology, to signal allegiance to progressive causes like trans activism and Indigenous reconciliation.

Ideological loyalty is an illusion in politics. Once in power, parties will quickly abandon the very groups that propelled them there if it is politically expedient. Examples include the UK's Labour Party turning on unions and Democrats ignoring BLM after the 2020 election. Power, not principle, is the goal.

High-density urban living constantly confronts residents with visible wealth disparity, as they see neighbors who are more successful. This constant social comparison can trigger resentment and a sense of inequality, which in turn fuels the appeal of left-leaning policies aimed at redistribution.

BC's political culture is exceptionally progressive, resembling Washington, Oregon, and California more than other Canadian provinces. This unique environment attracts activists and progressives from across the country and the world, creating a feedback loop that intensifies its radical policies.

The BC Conservative Party's rapid rise was followed by an equally rapid collapse. In a bid for mainstream electability, its leadership recruited candidates from a collapsing centre-right party. This created a caucus of "dogs and cats" with fundamentally opposed views on cultural issues, leading to infighting and paralysis.

Traditional center-left parties are losing influence because they lack a coherent agenda to address the modern drivers of voter discontent. Their continued focus on narrow economic solutions is ineffective against the powerful cultural, identity-based, and technological forces that are actually shaping politics and fueling populism.

Since the 1990s, the left has shifted from material concerns like wages to identity politics expressed in exclusionary academic rhetoric. This has actively repelled the working-class voters it historically championed and needs for a majority coalition.