A federal election candidate running in the Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge riding wants to see a border wall between Canada and the U.S. "Something about 1,000 feet high, like in Game of Thrones," suggests Rhinocerous Party Candidate Pete Buddle.
Running for the party that parodies the political process, the Rhino candidate can propose any policy he wants.
Reconsidering the ice wall that held back zombie hordes, for some reason, he instead suggests a deep trench "filled with rutting elk, rabid raccoons and lots of Canada Geese."
"It would put lots of people to work, digging and collecting dangerous animals."
So it goes for the Rhinos, who say if you're going to vote for clowns, choose the funniest. This is the party that would require the names of newborn babies in Canada to be at least 12 letters long, and include a capital, a number and a special character.
Serious about joining the race, Buddle wandered Memorial Peace Park and downtown Maple Ridge to find people willing to sign his nomination papers. Unsolicited, most would offer their own political agenda and views, he found.
"For certain, people hate politicians, and almost no one had a good thing to say about any of the political parties," he said. "If they had heard of the Rhino Party, they couldn't sign fast enough."
It's Buddle's second kick at an election, as the educator also ran in 2021, touting himself as "the perfect alternative to spoiling a ballot."
After the campaign, his daughter Sophie made him cupcakes to celebrate, decorated with the number 161 – the number of votes cast for the Rhinos out of 53,111.
Sophie has a successful career as a comedian, doing standup, appearing on talk shows, and working as a writer for After Midnight with Taylor Tomlinson on CBS.
Buddle pointed out he had a better showing in the riding with 161 votes than either the Green Party or Block Quebecois. Neither fielded a candidate.
He enjoyed the whole process.
"I loved it. I've never been so politically involved as I am doing this," he said
His campaign slogan: "Vote early, vote often, vote Rhino."
Four other candidates are confirmed in the riding are Conservative Marc Dalton, New Democrat Daniel Heydenrych, Chris Lehner of the People's Party of Canada, and Liberal Angie Rowell. Laura Anderson of the Green Party had yet to be named on the online list of candidates by Elections Canada by deadline.
They are preparing to meet in the first all-candidates meeting, coming Thursday, April 10 at 7 p.m. at the Maple Ridge Seniors Activity Centre, 12150 224 St. It is being hosted by the Maple Ridge Climate Hub.
