NDP and Greens Unite
Prince George, B.C.- NDP leader John Horgan, and Green leader Andrew Weaver have joined forces, meaning they have one more seat than the Christy Clark Liberals.
The two leaders made the announcement public at a joint news conference this afternoon outside the Legislature in Victoria.
The two leaders didn’t want to call this union a “coalition” instead, referring to it as a “minority government”
“This is an historic day for the Green Party” said Green Leader Andrew Weaver. He said there had been several meetings with both the NDP and Liberals, and that there was a “commonality” among all parties, “But at the end of the day, we had a difficult decision to make.” That decision has the Greens uniting with the NDP.
John Horgan, leader of the NDP said the agreement will give them the “Majority of support in the legislature and we will be meeting with the Lieutenant Governor to inform her of that.” Horgan made it clear he expects to form a new government.
The first order of business is to select a speaker, and if so, that would leave a tie in the legislature. Horgan says there is still time to work out who will take that role.
The Green party caucus has already ratified the agreement ( which will be made public tomorrow) and the NDP Caucus is expected to ratify the agreement tomorrow. Horgan says he is “Confident there will be unanimous support from our team”.
Weaver says he wants a stable government, and is not looking to force another election any time soon.
A recent survey indicated a majority of British Columbians polled wanted the NDP and Greens to work together. (see previous story)
Once the final count was completed, the Liberals had 43 seats, the New Democrats 41 and the Greens 3.
Comments
Great news for the civil service! Terrible news for anyone not sucking at the government teat.
I’m starting a whining losers bus service from PG to Jasper. It’s free as long as none of you ever come back.
No you’re not. As an NDP supporter you’ll be expecting someone else to start it up for you. :)
So… you’re saying that a bunch of people who don’t want this province ruined by the NDP, should move to a province that has been ruined by the NDP?
Thanks for the advice.
Not at all. I’m saying all you whiny, crying, losing Liberals that continuously threaten to close your doors and move out of BC if your meal tickets don’t get re elected, should. It must really hurt to know your taxpayer funded Liberal gravy train has run out of gravy.
Please elaborate on what the NDP has done to ruin Alberta.
“Please elaborate on what the NDP has done to ruin Alberta”
Seriously Dumbfounded? If someone has to elaborate then you have obviously not been paying attention. How about the NDP wanting to follow Ontario and their electricity debacle, how has that worked out for people there? Carbon Tax ring a bell? Closing Coal plants? I could go on but I don’t have enough time.
so I gather only your opinion counts?
Dumbfounded, I don’t threaten to move, I worry that I will have to in order to stay employed. I, unlike many others, am not a pensioner, nor a government employee.
As for bcracer, I’ll assume that comment was meant for someone else since it doesn’t make any sense lol.
Disaster for BC. #regrets. Be careful what you ask for fellow British Colombians.
We are not from Colombia ….. we are fron British COLUMBIA……
that should be “from” …. :-)
Not everyone can be perfect.
Too funny, someone rips another poster in bold letters for a spelling error only to have one themselves.
Just need clark to resign and BC will be better off.
Why should Clark resign her seat or as leader of the party? Fighting within the party is the last thing any party would want to do.
She is Leader of the Opposition. A new role for her and what has become a more centrist party. Let us see what she and the party can do. The Opposition in a minority government is not exactly a weak position.
One cannot hold the group in power to task with an apposition in disarray.
If the Greens have not negotiated that the condition is that the speaker be one of the 3 Green members, then they have missed an opportunity.
Since the seats in the House are now tied 43 BCLibs to 43 NDP/Greens with an NDP or Green speaker, the Greens only control is to leave the coalition if they are not in agreement.
If, however, they have the speaker, they get to cast the tie vote, rather than the NDP.
In my opinion, a much more powerful situation for the Greens.
“The two leaders didn’t want to call this union a “coalition” instead, referring to it as a “minority government””
Not a very comforting piece of information. Does not bode well for the NDP.
This election was fought strictly on dominating issues and representation in the lower mainland. Once again the north gets cut out of what we voted for. On the plus side we have some seasoned MLA’s here (Bond and Morris)who have a bit of pull in the legislature. I have to admit that I voted liberal, however given that we have a minority government im optimistic that we will see some sort of balance.
For the NDP and Greens it would be political and financial suicide if they put restrictions on the resource sectors. The liberals got a little to comfortable with the status quo and it cost them. Moving forward, site c will still be the hot button issue for the north. If the NDP decided to cancel it now..Look out for costly, lengthy legal challenges to honor the construction contracts. That’s pretty much one of the only big ticket items I see being a bit of fight..
Anyhow lets see where this goes..One thing is for sure..Times are changing and it sure is complex..
No matter what way you voted, it’s a bit disheartening for me to see almost zero representation in the NDP-Green coalition from anywhere outside of the Lower Mainland.
WE ARE SCREWED.
IT’S YOUR TURN.
wonder how much and what changed hands?
All hail the Lower Mainland Party!
Just plain wrong! Takes two parties to unite as one? Then get rid of the Greens. How the hell can two parties form one government when they are both separate? Blows the whole concept of having parties. Definitely not whining, just a plain crock of %#*@ as it turns into a farce! I don’t care who wins, but to have two parties join as one is inane and ludicrous as hell! Goes for any party!
It really does seem like a take-over. Doesn’t seem democratic.
Just like when christy wasn’t elected in Vancouver and had to go boot another Liberal.
Hold on to your hats folks…..its going to be a bumpy ride. I predict the economy is headed into the toilet as businesses and investors leave the province in droves…..
This is gonna suck.
We will have to wait and see how things go. The NDP have a history of circling the wagons and shooting inwards (remember Carole James and Mike Harcourt). If we can last 18 months without going to another election, we might just last the full yet. I will not be holding my breath in any event. There is an old adage that people elect the government they deserve.
Greens will take care of the island as that is their base and NDP will take care of the lower mainland as that is their base. Time to draw a border at Hope and start taking care of ourselves
About the only landlocked ridings the NDP or Greens won were the hippies down in the West Kootenays.
Oh lovely. Darrell from Storage Wars in charge.
Lol.. I see what you did there..
I guess that would make these two Darrell and his other brother Darrell.
I hope the people that voted for and support the NDP or Green party are happy with the idea we in the north will be subsidizing the commute for those that travel accross bridges in the lower mainland. And for those that don’t have children will be subsidizing child care for those that do. You should realize it will not only be us but our children who will be paying for this merger.
My only request and hope is that tomorrow morning Christy goes to the Lieutenant-Governor of BC and asks for Legislature to be disoloved.
I think not a lot will get done..to much negotiAting with no results..
The irony again is palpable . Like the red , green coalition in the Bundestag , ending the 16 year rule of Hemut kohl .masive unemployment in the east ( north of 604 here ) and nobody doing anything about it . Big money can buy little politicians but not the juggernaut that is the voter .
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