Provincial Election Shows ‘Urban-Rural Divide’
Prince George, B.C. – If last night’s provincial election result in British Columbia showed us anything it’s that the province is more divided than ever by geography.
Except for a handful of ridings – the BC NDP picked up most its seats in Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island while the BC Liberals had varied success in the Lower Mainland but were very strong in northern, B.C.
Political Science lecturer Jason Morris – photo courtesy UNBC
“It seems we have a clear urban-rural divide in our province that will be a learning curve for governing,” says Jason Morris, political science lecturer at UNBC. “And it seems that we will have to have a lot more discussion and collaboration in the legislature to effectively govern the province.”
And considering how close the election was, he says it was “effectively decided by those that didn’t bother to come out to vote.”
“It seems like every riding, every vote, matters this time around. There’s no requirement that British Columbians have to vote, but certainly it seems in the election much more people could have been engaged.”
As for Morris’ thoughts on what appears to be a minority government?
“British Columbians won’t have much lived experience of the challenges of minority parliaments in which often nothing gets done,” he says.
“As well, they tend to be less stable in terms of the length of term for a government. British Columbians could beef up on parliamentary procedure and as well it brings up the whole role of the formal executive that gets to have a say on who is in charge.”
Comments
This Morris guy just repeats the talking points he reads on the internet. “It seams like every riding every vote counts” … Maybe down south, but the local ridings he is commenting on we’re landslides where a comment like that is kind of out of place.
I figured this election was as predictable as an old zoombie movie and predicted its outcome at the outset. It was an election of no good choices, one of bad and worse on the mainland, throw in a fortress Vancouver Island element and you have BC politics in 2017.
What is needed is a shake up on the right. I think Northern BC needs to have a northern BC free enterprise party, one that only runs and represents Northern BC ridings, rather than a provincial slate. Each of the other regions of BC could in turn have their own regional free enterprise party as well that serves the interests of those regions. Clearly BC is a province of unique and varied political persuasions that vary greatly from region to region… Whether it be Northern BC,or Vancouver Island, or the arbitrage land developers of the Lower Mainland. Clearly the right side of the spectrum has room to spare for competitive races in the North so that our vote truly does count in a close race.
The right side of the spectrum got undermined when the BC liberals were first elected with no opposition, because election BC banned the then reform BC party over election spending issues. Ever since the North elects liberals as the only viable option, but in effect just holds the bag for the money changers in the Lower Mainland that drives the liberal party. Progress in the North is slow and almost one step back for every step forward the last ten years, so if anything at least a minority government might get us some notice if our ridings were in play. Even better if a minority government was right of centre free enterprise made up of good regionally based parties, rather than tied to the whims of the far left.
I suspect the Green Party will push for proportional rep as a condition… but after the hard line position on the BCSTV referendum how could the BC liberals possibly go along with that? I suspect this is an issue that would rightly draw a new election. Also does this now put in play the $70 a ton carbon tax on thermal coal if green is the king maker? And how does that impact LNG policy? Lots of questions on how these parties will work together, and how their wish lists will meet the political reality, but not much question that BC is too big for simply a two party douopoly on power and that minority governments are likely going to be the new norm in BC politics.
But I agree with his last statement… This new minority government will be good for fixing some of our parliamentary procedures and governance. One hopes that will be their legacy this parliament anyways….
Eagle, you won’t ever get actual “free enterprise” anywhere so long as the flow of all business costs coming through to the point of final retail in prices exceeds the rate total incomes are being distributed. The problem is a ‘macro-economic’ accounting problem. There needs to be an ongoing way to augment earned incomes, WITHOUT increasing overall indebtedness, so that the two flows are brought into sync with one another. Currently we attempt to do the same thing by engaging in major capital projects, like Site C, for instance. This only delays, and makes even larger, the underlying problem. It also causes business consolidations. As a means of survival. For a little longer. We need to look at this whole issue, and make the necessary corrections, or “free enterprise” hasn’t got a chance.
That may be so socred, but the reality of the situation is that BC as a province has very little control over monetary policy. Monetary policy is more of a federal matter unless we made drastic changes to the constitution.
My suggestion is for what we could do politically at a local level. Supporting free enterprise in place of monopoly capital policies for the north would mean more sustainability and more economic diversity in the North. It would mean small players would have a more level footing with established multinationals in accessing resources, and that rules and regulations would not be designed to prop up monopolies at the expense of new entrants to the market or other competing businesses that may not have the political power of a Wall Street owned multinational.
If more of the value chain retains more cash flow and more monetary recirculating momentum in the north, rather than bleeding it all off to foreign shareholders and interest payments of oligarchic like monopolies, then a lot of the monetary problems you speak of would be addressed. There are many ways to increase to monetary supply with out printing actual dollars, but through creating value through process, extraction, or release of stored energy… All of which northern BC has plenty of potential to sustain our wealth if it was managed for the greater economy of the middle class and not just for the financial economy of fake GDP and elite rent seakers.
Eagle, without addressing the cause of the problem I mentioned, there is really no way what you’re wanting to do will ever work. “Value adding” can, in some instances, add to employment. But no matter how much employment is added, or how far up the ‘value chain’ you take any particular product, ALL the costs still have to be recovered in price. And wages, salaries AND PROFITS are only a PART of those overall costs. And an ever declining part, as technology continues to advance and displaces labor and the incomes formerly made by labor.
I realise full well that ‘monetary policy’ is in the realm of the Federal government, so far as our Constitution is concerned. Less clear, however is whether that level of government has sole control over CREDIT. The Provinces are able to raise loans in their own name, WITHOUT the approval of Ottawa, and also do their own bookkeeping. Since control over natural resources is vested in the Provinces, this opens the question as to whether any Province could use its own ‘financial credit’ to better facilitate the production (and consumption) of its REAL credit ~ the rate at which goods and services can be produced and delivered as, when, and where required and desired. The Constitutional issue may not be as certain as it seems on this aspect of the situation, though there’s no question that Ottawa is sovereign over ‘money’ creation and banking.
What is noticeable is the regions where the jobs and money revenue come from is pretty well overwhelmingly liberal the areas where population is but very little in the way of money revenue is pretty well NDP
That speaks volumes to me sadly the lower mainlanders as per usual will dictate everything
Dearth:_”What is noticeable is the regions where the jobs and money revenue come from is pretty well overwhelmingly liberal the areas where population is but very little in the way of money revenue is pretty well NDP”
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People in those regions are a little slow to recognise there’s a big difference between ‘inflation’ and ‘prosperity’. The BC Liberals have gotten by over the last 16 years by confusing the two in the minds of the public. And, for the most part, and increasingly, in their own minds. They’ve made the same mistake WAC Bennett’s government made in 1972, when too many people woke up to the fact that ‘inflation’ is NOT ‘prosperity’. It’s just ‘inflation’.
And when you pay ever more and get ever the less for it, they want that changed.
It’s really ironic that they’d pick the NDP to try to change it, which I seriously doubt they’re going to be able to do and stay true to some of what’s in their platform. But what else is there? At least Horgan talked about “affordability”. And people listened. He doesn’t have the answer, I’m sure, but he did open the question.
Those on the right side of the political spectrum need to wake up. All that is good will be lost if they can’t get it through their heads how ‘money’ actually works, why it’s NOT working for OUR greater benefit, and how to correct that. If they try to ignore this issue they’re going to be also rans most places, and never get enough seats to form another government.
I suggest you research the composition of BC’s GDP. It will surprise you.
GDP is in the realm of economics, NMG, where it’s simply one of many indicators. The problem I’m alluding to is in the realm of accounting. Which works wonderfully in individual instances in the business world, where its function is to properly relate business costs incurred to what’s needed in prices to recover them. It does that just fine. But in an overall sense, it mis-represents the physical reality it’s supposed to be an accurate numerical reflection of through ‘money’. We charge the consumer of any product sums which represent things like capital depreciation, and various other overheads, through the prices he pays. But we currently have no way to fully credit the same consumer with capital appreciation, which in total will normally be much greater. This is the reverse, financially, of what should be happening. Each passing year our overall efficiency at doing things increases. Barring any wars, or natural disasters which actually impede our ability to produce. Yet when prices, to us at the level of final consumption, should be falling, they’re more often than not going the other way. Is a new pick-up truck, for instance, now worth over what you used to be able to buy a house for? When the number of people making that truck, and now even selling it if it’s a Chev or GMC, have been continually reduced?
Sorry socredible, I was actually responding to Dearth’s post and the belief that a handful of cities in the rural areas of the Province somehow drive the entire provincial economy. It’s just not accurate. The economy associated with Vancouver and the LML has a significant impact on BC.
If the Greens got their political way many projects and jobs would be shut down, the economy would greatly suffer, the NDP more social handouts to every bleeding heart and excuses. Remember those who actually work, the taxpayer, keep this province in good economic order. There is no perfect political party, possibly a minority gov will make these politicians work harder and become more accountable. As usual it is the lower mainland against BC after Hope in politics. Granola crunchers do little in the lower mainland but a lot of cheap talk over coffee……………
And you my friend hit it right on the head! NDP has always been an enabler party and Green, although I agree with some of their concept, would crush some of the industries and put BC in a predicament that we don’t need.
“British Columbians won’t have much lived experience of the challenges of minority parliaments in which often nothing gets done,” he says.
Maybe a government that gets nothing done is what we need. No silly projects, no new bizarre laws, etc.
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