BC candidate Mike Hicks says First Nations 'conquered' comment was out of context

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover BC candidate Mike Hicks says First Nations 'conquered' comment was out…?

Of the 15 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 87% are rated left, 13% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 18. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.

Is BC candidate Mike Hicks says First Nations 'conquered' comment was out… left or right?

The story itself is neither. What can be counted is who has covered it, and 87% of the 15 rated outlets on it are rated left — so far this is a story carried mostly by the left. Coverage is still arriving and that can change, which is why the figure is dated rather than fixed.

Is the coverage of BC candidate Mike Hicks says First Nations 'conquered' comment was out… biased?

BC candidate Mike Hicks says First Nations 'conquered' comment was out of context is one event reported by 18 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.

Which side is not reporting BC candidate Mike Hicks says First Nations 'conquered' comment was out…?

When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.

Which outlets covered BC candidate Mike Hicks says First Nations 'conquered' comment was out…?

18 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.

What did BC candidate Mike Hicks say about First Nations?

At an Oct 9 debate, Mike Hicks, Conservative candidate for Juan de Fuca-Malahat, said "First Nations have to be conquered." He later stated this was taken out of context and he was advocating for modern treaty negotiations.

How did Indigenous leaders and politicians react to Hicks' comments?

The First Nations Leadership Council condemned the remarks as "deeply racist." BC NDP leader David Eby called them "extremism," and BC Green leader Emily Lowan called for Hicks' removal as a candidate. Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson found the comment "offensive."

Did Mike Hicks apologise for his remarks?

Mike Hicks issued a statement saying the video clip was taken out of context. He explained he was discussing historical context and making a case for developing modern treaties, rather than defending past actions.