BC Liberals win minority government

Greg D’Avignon, CEO of the Business Council of British Columbia, doesn’t think a minority government with the Greens holding sway will necessarily stop major energy projects like the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion or the $36 billion Pacific NorthWest LNG project from going forward.

Political scientists say Green Leader Andrew Weaver must carefully stickhandle the power he has while not alienating his own supporters if the results of the election are confirmed in the coming weeks and no party has a majority in the legislature.

The NDP won 41 seats and the Greens have three seats, leaving Weaver to determine whether to side with the Liberals or the New Democrats in a minority government situation. And Andrew Weaver’s Green party even threatened at times to secure the balance of power in a minority government.

Liberal incumbent Jordan Sturdy held on to his West Vancouver-Sea to Sky seat, despite strong showings by both the Greens and NDP.

The party is locked in a statistical dead heat with the NDP, according to the latest Mainstreet poll, although the polling group forecasts a Liberal majority. “And so it is by no means finished and the dynamics of the house, once it’s finally constituted in the form that it’s going to take, I think, will have a lot to do with what the story is from here on”.

The NDP almost swept the city of Vancouver and won a handful of battleground ridings in the suburbs of Metro Vancouver, including seats in Burnaby, Surrey, Coquitlam and Delta.

The votes are in, and Christy Clark will remain premier for the time being. They want us to work together. “It is my intention to continue to lead British Columbia”.

Christy Clark has been premier since February 2011 when she won the Liberal leadership race to replace former premier Gordon Campbell.

“I let them go with it”, said teacher-librarian Kae Solomon, who organized the mock election at Lyndhurst.

Weaver was the last to address the media Wednesday, saying it was too soon to say which party he would support. A spokesperson said the party’s two key demands would be a move to proportional representation and a ban on big money in politics. (TSX:WTE), since Clark has proposed a levy on USA coal shipments through its Vancouver port in response to the softwood lumber dispute. As Reid Fiest reports, a possible BC NDP and Green Party coalition could create obstacles for the already approved $7.4 Billion pipeline.

Horgan did an incredible job despite being discounted by many commentators – bringing the NDP tantalizingly close to a majority government and still on the brink of possibly becoming premier.

If one party does not emerge with a majority of seats after an election, convention dictates the Lieutenant Governor offer that opportunity first to the person who previously held the job. The NDP has promised to ban the donations, while the Liberals have said they’ll convene a panel to review them.

A fifth straight victory for the BC Liberals would make Clark the first woman to be re-elected premier in Canadian history.

Recounting a phone conversation he had with Weaver on election night, Horgan said the two leaders agreed that the long-governing Liberals have failed British Columbians on a range of issues, from child care to housing affordability.