More than 200 entities registered as third-party advertisers in the 2024 British Columbia election, but there was one that got singled out and scrutinized by the left.West Coast Proud — which was among the few groups opposing Premier David Eby and the BC NDP's return to power — operated a relatively inexpensive but effective social media campaign. Their online success drew the ire of left-wing outlet The Tyee, which in conjunction with the Investigative Journalism Foundation attempted to cast doubt on their legitimacy by painting them as "secretive."The Western Standard spoke exclusively with the West Coast Proud's top brass and broke down some of The Tyee's claims.The outlet drilled down on the fact that West Coast Proud has ties to Alberta, including Calgary-based energy advocacy organization the Modern Miracle Network. After noting that the Modern Miracle Network had been financially involved in social media campaigns during recent federal elections, the article went on to admit there was "no evidence" West Coast Proud had violated BC campaign laws by receiving donations from the organization..MODERN MIRACLE NETWORK: Inside the organization at the forefront of the anti-carbon tax crusade.The exact relationship was not divulged in The Tyee's piece, however Modern Miracle Network founder Michael Binnion told the Western Standard that his organization simply acts as a middle-man, "networking together over 100 organizations across Canada who who care about energy and resources." West Coast Proud was among them. .One of West Coast Proud's directors, Alberta lawyer-turned-Vancouver Island resident Andy Crooks, described the relationship as "third cousins twice removed."When asked why he felt The Tyee had gone after West Coast Proud without proving the group had done anything wrong, Binnion argued that their goal had simply been to put ideas into the ether and let headlines and algorithms dictate the narrative."People that don't like West Coast proud are gonna be very happy to click on that article," he explained, "and and I would say, ultimately, over a period of time, their goal would be to say, 'let's have that if you put in West Coast Proud, up come two, three, four, five articles, which overwhelms the first page of your search.' And, you know, the problem with most people is the first page through their Google searches is the answer, right?".West Coast Proud's other director, former former BC MP and Conservative cabinet minister Stockwell Day echoed Binnion's sentiments, describing The Tyee's modus operandi as trying to "flood the cybersphere with questions." The outlet even ran a second piece focusing on Day's involvement, citing an expert from the University of British Columbia who described it as "a kind of link between the official world of Conservatism and this shadowy online world of conservatism.""The key operatives at The Tyee and groups like that, they realize they have a very weak position when it comes to defending leftist policies that are so harmful to society," Day told the Western Standard. "Rather than having a good debate on policy, they try to go after a platform and try to divert attention away from their policies that don't work and small-c conservative policies that do work."Crooks was more direct in his criticism."If they looked at the materials, if they bothered to pay any attention to the website or read even the filings that we made with BC elections, there's nothing secretive about this," he said. "Either they are advertently ignorant or dismally stupid."Crooks described The Tyee's use of particular terms such as "secretive" as "dog whistles," and argued that the left "feel[s] threatened because there's no moral, ethical or political foundation for their policies or governance habits.".West Coast Proud has been active on social media since 2019. Over the years, it has garnered followings of 21,000 and 10,000 on Facebook and Instagram, respectively. Beginning in the summer of 2024, it began publishing ads calling attention to the policies put in place by the BC NDP and suggesting the BC Conservatives were the answer to the province's woes. The main issues it focused on were crime, drugs, affordability, and healthcare.Under BC campaign regulations, in the 60 days before the writ is dropped, third-party advertisers have no spending limits, but they must disclose their donors, affiliations, and how they spent the money. Between writ drop on September 21 and election day on October 19, all the same disclosure rules apply, plus a spending limit.Documents viewed by the Western Standard showed that West Coast Proud had been informed by legal counsel on June 25 of everything associated with being a third party advertiser.Binnion said West Coast Proud's goal was to be "transparently, in full compliance with all rules and regulations," but questioned why the standard appeared different based on where a group falls on the political spectrum."One thing that we find that happens consistently," he explained, "is somehow, because it's a pro-conservative group, it should disclose everything about its private affairs, even though other organizations that are not conservative supporting don't."Binnion summarized the left's argument as, "Yes, unions and all these other groups are spending way more money, but that's okay, because, they're transparent and ethical, whereas these guys who spend very little money are somehow not transparent and not ethical.""While I would agree that our laundry is not fully exposed to the public in general," he countered, "we had Andy Crooks and Stockwell Day as public spokespeople, we file and declare on everything, we have financial statements, so we're every bit as transparent as any union is."The 243 registered third-party advertisers' contribution reports are set to be made public later this month.
More than 200 entities registered as third-party advertisers in the 2024 British Columbia election, but there was one that got singled out and scrutinized by the left.West Coast Proud — which was among the few groups opposing Premier David Eby and the BC NDP's return to power — operated a relatively inexpensive but effective social media campaign. Their online success drew the ire of left-wing outlet The Tyee, which in conjunction with the Investigative Journalism Foundation attempted to cast doubt on their legitimacy by painting them as "secretive."The Western Standard spoke exclusively with the West Coast Proud's top brass and broke down some of The Tyee's claims.The outlet drilled down on the fact that West Coast Proud has ties to Alberta, including Calgary-based energy advocacy organization the Modern Miracle Network. After noting that the Modern Miracle Network had been financially involved in social media campaigns during recent federal elections, the article went on to admit there was "no evidence" West Coast Proud had violated BC campaign laws by receiving donations from the organization..MODERN MIRACLE NETWORK: Inside the organization at the forefront of the anti-carbon tax crusade.The exact relationship was not divulged in The Tyee's piece, however Modern Miracle Network founder Michael Binnion told the Western Standard that his organization simply acts as a middle-man, "networking together over 100 organizations across Canada who who care about energy and resources." West Coast Proud was among them. .One of West Coast Proud's directors, Alberta lawyer-turned-Vancouver Island resident Andy Crooks, described the relationship as "third cousins twice removed."When asked why he felt The Tyee had gone after West Coast Proud without proving the group had done anything wrong, Binnion argued that their goal had simply been to put ideas into the ether and let headlines and algorithms dictate the narrative."People that don't like West Coast proud are gonna be very happy to click on that article," he explained, "and and I would say, ultimately, over a period of time, their goal would be to say, 'let's have that if you put in West Coast Proud, up come two, three, four, five articles, which overwhelms the first page of your search.' And, you know, the problem with most people is the first page through their Google searches is the answer, right?".West Coast Proud's other director, former former BC MP and Conservative cabinet minister Stockwell Day echoed Binnion's sentiments, describing The Tyee's modus operandi as trying to "flood the cybersphere with questions." The outlet even ran a second piece focusing on Day's involvement, citing an expert from the University of British Columbia who described it as "a kind of link between the official world of Conservatism and this shadowy online world of conservatism.""The key operatives at The Tyee and groups like that, they realize they have a very weak position when it comes to defending leftist policies that are so harmful to society," Day told the Western Standard. "Rather than having a good debate on policy, they try to go after a platform and try to divert attention away from their policies that don't work and small-c conservative policies that do work."Crooks was more direct in his criticism."If they looked at the materials, if they bothered to pay any attention to the website or read even the filings that we made with BC elections, there's nothing secretive about this," he said. "Either they are advertently ignorant or dismally stupid."Crooks described The Tyee's use of particular terms such as "secretive" as "dog whistles," and argued that the left "feel[s] threatened because there's no moral, ethical or political foundation for their policies or governance habits.".West Coast Proud has been active on social media since 2019. Over the years, it has garnered followings of 21,000 and 10,000 on Facebook and Instagram, respectively. Beginning in the summer of 2024, it began publishing ads calling attention to the policies put in place by the BC NDP and suggesting the BC Conservatives were the answer to the province's woes. The main issues it focused on were crime, drugs, affordability, and healthcare.Under BC campaign regulations, in the 60 days before the writ is dropped, third-party advertisers have no spending limits, but they must disclose their donors, affiliations, and how they spent the money. Between writ drop on September 21 and election day on October 19, all the same disclosure rules apply, plus a spending limit.Documents viewed by the Western Standard showed that West Coast Proud had been informed by legal counsel on June 25 of everything associated with being a third party advertiser.Binnion said West Coast Proud's goal was to be "transparently, in full compliance with all rules and regulations," but questioned why the standard appeared different based on where a group falls on the political spectrum."One thing that we find that happens consistently," he explained, "is somehow, because it's a pro-conservative group, it should disclose everything about its private affairs, even though other organizations that are not conservative supporting don't."Binnion summarized the left's argument as, "Yes, unions and all these other groups are spending way more money, but that's okay, because, they're transparent and ethical, whereas these guys who spend very little money are somehow not transparent and not ethical.""While I would agree that our laundry is not fully exposed to the public in general," he countered, "we had Andy Crooks and Stockwell Day as public spokespeople, we file and declare on everything, we have financial statements, so we're every bit as transparent as any union is."The 243 registered third-party advertisers' contribution reports are set to be made public later this month.
