In a highly charged and contentious provincial election, the NDP led by Premier David Eby, squeaked in with the slimmest and most razor-thin of margins, gaining a majority to lead the province ahead for the next four years.
This election has been fascinating for a number of reasons. Following the demise of BC United, the BC Conservatives and John Rustad catapulted into the limelight, resulting in an election that was too close to call, and which took until Monday, October 28, to declare. The rise of the BC Conservatives with leader John Rustad almost universally refusing to participate in debates much less answering any questions, also makes one ponder as to whether the results reflect an indictment among voters, of Eby and his government.
The NDP has been elected in 47 ridings, with the Conservatives elected in 44. The B.C. Greens have won two seats. 47 is the magic number needed for a majority.
Most pundits and academics believe that the NDP will need to rely on the Greens to pass legislation, and hence we are likely to see an alliance form. With such a slim margin, the NDP will have to ensure all of its MLAs are on hand for every vote and they will also need to ensure they keep the Greens happy.
Also, under the rules of the B.C. Legislature, a Speaker has to be elected to preside over the house and this person needs to be neutral, and as such this will make it even more likely the NDP will need assistance to pass legislation.
As such, most experts don’t believe that the NDP will have a major and/or ambitious agenda moving forward. Given all the legislation they pushed through on housing prior to the election, we can expect them to stay the course on those announcements. Our friends at BCREA provided some great commentary on housing issues in this election which you can find here.
To no one’s surprise, given the close outcome of the election, Eby and his government will need to ensure they let the voters know that the message has been heard loud and clear – British Columbians want to see tangible action on cost of living/inflation, housing affordability/attainability, health care, safety and crime.
Meanwhile, BC Conservative Leader, John Rustad accepted the election results, but he has not ruled out trying to topple Eby’s government, so we are definitely in for very interesting times…
As happens post-election, as the leader of the NDP, Premier Eby will need to take a closer look at his cabinet, and for us, it will be interesting to see if there are any changes to the housing portfolio.
Despite losing her bid for Victoria-Beacon, BC Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau has pledged to remain at the party’s forefront. Furstenau was seen as a strong communicator during the TV debate that took place with all three party leaders in the lead-up to the election.
If you have any questions pertaining to the work of the SGRC, please feel free to contact Shafiq Jamal, our Stakeholder & GR Affairs Facilitator, at 778-986-5600, or via email.