Number 3 in NEWS 1130’s Top 10 of 2017

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – For 16 years the BC Liberals ran the show in Victoria.

But despite overseeing a period of strong economic growth, the party failed to win a majority of seats in May’s election.

It secured 43 seats in the province’s 87 seat legislature, needing a deal with the Green Party or for an NDP member of the legislature to cross the floor in order to stay in power.

After a period of negotiations, it was the NDP that convinced the Green Party, which won three seats in the vote, that it was the best partner to form government with.

“We spent four sessions with the BC NDP,” Green leader Andrew Weaver said following negotiations. “Many, many, many hours talking about issues of commonality, talking about differences.

“In the end we had to make a difficult decision. A decision that we felt was in the best interest of British Columbia today. And that decision was for the BC Greens to work with the BC NDP to provide a stable minority government over the four-year term of this next session.”

In exchange for the support of the Greens, the NDP had to agree to a number of conditions, including that it would hold a referendum on changing how we vote.

Listen: Martin MacMahon brings us Number 3 in NEWS 1130’s Top 10 stories of 2017

 

The BC Liberals didn’t let go of power easily. Premier Christy Clark even went so far as to ask Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon to dissolve the legislature and hold another election.

Guichon declined, allowing the NDP and Greens to formalize a deal.

Once those parties hammered out the details, and John Horgan was sworn in as premier, Clark announced she would be leaving politics after six and a half years leading the province.

“Part of my decision was, figuring out, alright when is the best time for this to happen? Is it two years from now, when an election is more likely? Or is it now, when it’s least likely? I really felt it was best for our party and for the province to get it out of the way as soon as we could,” said Clark in late July as she resigned.

As for why the BC Liberals lost seats, it’s hard to pinpoint one definitive issue that cost the party its majority. Some chose alternatives because of concerns over housing affordability, others wanted changes to the voting system and political contribution rules, while some wanted to see tolls eliminated on the Port Mann Bridge.

One moment that sticks out on the campaign trail was an interaction Clark had with a woman named Linda Higgins, while she was mainstreeting in a North Vancouver grocery store.

While TV cameras rolled, the woman said, “Hi Christy, I’m Linda. I would never vote for you.”

Clark brushed off the remark, saying, “You don’t have to. That’s why we live in a democracy.”

The clip immediately went viral, with people sharing their own concerns with the BC Liberal government using the #IAmLinda hashtag on social media.

SFU political scientist David Moscrop feels the moment did have an impact on the result.

“It didn’t do Premier Clark, at the time, any good, reinforcing the opinion that she was sort of out of touch, and cold,” says Moscrop.

“Most things in an election don’t really matter. What ends up mattering is the sort of impression people take away from the whole experience. I think the general impression that people came away with was that the premier had stayed too long at the fair and didn’t quite get the needs of ordinary British Columbians, whereas John Horgan did. At least enough of them believed that to give the NDP a shot of forming government, remembering that they didn’t actually win the most votes.”

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