What do you get when you mix green and orange? A potential end to the BC Liberals鈥 16-year dynastic rule of Canada鈥檚 Pacific province.
In a surprise press conference on Monday, the leaders of B.C.鈥檚 NDP and Green parties announced they are willing to join forces to unseat Liberal Premier Christy Clark, whose party won 43 seats in B.C.鈥檚 May 9 election -- just one seat shy of being able to form a majority government. The NDP, meanwhile, had clinched 41 seats while the Greens won three. Together, the two opposition parties have more than 57 per cent of the popular vote and a razor-thin majority in B.C.鈥檚 legislature.
鈥淚 am very excited about the prospect of delivering for the people of British Columbia what they voted for on May 9th, and that was change ,鈥 B.C. NDP leader John Horgan told reporters on Monday. 鈥淚鈥檓 very excited about the prospect of stable government and demonstrating to British Columbians that we can do great things when we work together.鈥
Horgan and B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver used the press conference as an opportunity to highlight their parties鈥 shared vision of an NDP-led minority government buoyed by Green support, a proposal which stills needs to be approved by the NDP鈥檚 caucus and B.C.鈥檚 lieutenant-governor -- and possibly Clark herself. And while the two leaders promised to reveal their shared positions in a document to be released on Tuesday, they also gave a few hints as to the issues that unite them:
ELECTORAL REFORM
Both parties have advocated for replacing B.C.鈥檚 first-past-the-post electoral system with proportional representation, which would distribute seats in B.C.鈥檚 legislature according to a party鈥檚 share of the popular vote. First-past-the-post has benefited the B.C. Liberals, who netted 49.4 per cent of the legislature鈥檚 seats in May with only 40.4 per cent of the popular vote. With a widely-distributed support base, the Greens have suffered the most under first-past-the-post, receiving only 3.4 per cent of the seats in B.C.鈥檚 legislature in the last election despite winning 16.8 per cent of the popular vote.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking to show to British Columbians that minority governments can work,鈥 Weaver told reporters on Monday. 鈥淎nd what better way to show that proportional representation could work by showing that a minority government can and will work in the best interest of people throughout its session.鈥
PIPELINES
The Greens鈥 longstanding opposition to new and expanded oil pipelines has been well-documented, and that stance appears to have played an integral role in their negotiations with the NDP, who have also opposed projects like Kinder Morgan鈥檚 Trans Mountain expansion, which has already been approved by the federal Liberals.
鈥淭he issue of Kinder Morgan is one that I have been heavily invested in,鈥 Weaver said at the press conference. 鈥淭his issue of Kinder Morgan is one that was critical to us.鈥
JOB GROWTH
At their press conference, both Horgan and Weaver criticized Clark鈥檚 record on job creation.
鈥淯nder this minority, you will actually see job growth -- real, stable, secure job growth,鈥 Weaver said. 鈥淣ot boom-and-bust job growth; not build a big project here so that everyone goes out of work five years later; not job growth focused exclusively on an out-of-control real estate sector in Vancouver; but distributed, real, high-paying, fair wage jobs across the province.鈥
That sentiment was echoed by Horgan.
鈥淥ur objective, as we form a government, is to ensure that we keep the economy going and we make sure we鈥檙e preparing for the economy of the future鈥 as well as making sure that our foundational industries like forestry are at the front and centre,鈥 Horgan said.
OTHER ISSUES
According to The Canadian Press, the Green party鈥檚 other key demands included gaining official party status (under current rules, a party in B.C. needs four seats for this), which would allow it, amongst other things, to have more floor time during question period. The Greens also called for political fundraising reform. Unlike in federal politics and the majority of Canada鈥檚 provinces, there are currently no campaign contribution limits in B.C.
With files from The Canadian Press