The Great Esquimalt Baker

Jennifer Childs auditioned for the popular cooking competition show every year since its first season. Over the past eight years, auditioning became a cherished tradition for her, her husband, and their three kids. This year, her persistence paid off.

But baking isn't just a hobby for her, or a chance to make it on TV. It's a long-standing family tradition, a way to connect with herself and her loved ones.

“I think I was baking cookies with my mom before I can even remember,” she tells Tasting Victoria. Inspired by TV shows featuring icons like Martha Stewart and Anna Olson, Childs developed a love for ambitious baking projects such as a gingerbread house replica of her own home. That ambition won her this season's first technical bake challenge and its first “star baker” crown. 

It wasn't just food, it was a way for her to experiment and push the boundaries of what was possible—a source of fun that she's now passed on to her kids, who bake with her often.

Childs says her favourite bakes are all about who she's baking for— not what she's baking.

Read more at Tasting Victoria about her story, her recipes, and the ins and outs of the popular show. 

You can catch up on the show on CBC Gem and watch new episodes on CBC on Sundays at 8pm.

BC's election result wasn't yet certain on Monday, and may not be for another week. A record 2.04M votes were cast, but some 49k mail-in and absentee ballots remained uncounted. 

What will these remaining votes do?

Those votes will shape the final riding totals, but with an average of barely 500 per riding are unlikely to change a result. Except, that is, in very close races. BC's closest was local district Juan de Fuca-Malahat, in which the NDP were up by only 23 votes—close enough to also prompt a recount by hand during final count weekend (Oct. 26-28).

Afterward there may also be full judicial recounts, handled by the Supreme Court of BC, for ridings with victory margins within 1/500 of total ballots. More info on recounts & final votes here.

Why do these narrow ridings matter?

The BC NDP and BC Conservatives are very close and both short of a majority (47 seats). If the NDP maintains its slim leads in the 2 recounted regions (or if final tallies manage to flip a riding such as Surrey-Guildford that was not quite in automatic-recount territory) it can make a deal with the Greens to govern comfortably with 48 seats. With a single recount-riding win, they can govern less comfortably. Under BC's system, an incumbent government gets a shot to maintain power if no party has a majority.

What happens with a narrow 47-46 advantage?

Yesterday, we noted that 47 of 93 seats may not be a sufficient advantage, due to the Speaker—a necessary procedure-enforcing role that one MLA must take on, which is supposed to be impartial and nonpartisan, and does not attend party caucus meetings. We need to make a correction to how we explained that aspect: The Speaker does vote, just not in the initial vote. 

When and how does the Speaker vote?

The Speaker can vote to break ties—however, guidelines expect the Speaker to vote in ways that allow for further discussion by the assembly. The Speaker should avoid being the decisive vote to ultimately pass something, and hew to the majority position of those in the Legislative Assembly. They are to vote based on their role, not based on their personal position. 

This is why we said that a 47-46 advantage can often result in the legislature being locked in practice. To keep a functional government, the leading party or its coalition partners would have to ensure there is a Speaker. But supplying that Speaker limits how effectively they can win votes to advance legislation. This became an issue in 2017.

What can happen, and when?

If a party or collaboration/coalition reaches a narrow lead of 47 seats, there will likely be no change to the government—though also no real legislative activity—until an early 2025 legislative sitting. At that point, the result of a confidence vote could force another election. The BC Conservatives have said that if the NDP does narrowly retain government, they will look for every opportunity to bring it down early.

If the NDP + Greens have 48 seats, the government would be less vulnerable, though its ability to pass legislation will depend on to what extent the Greens provide support.