Tuesday October 22, 2024 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
In the last few days since the bombshell preliminary BC election results everyone has been waiting for at least one shoe to drop.
Which way will the 46/45 split go for the province (BC NDP got 46 seats and the BC Conservatives won 45)? At least two ridings are undergoing an automatic recount, for having a less-than-100 vote margin: about 23-vote margin in Juan de Fuca-Malahat and 95-vote margin in Surrey City Centre.
The BC Greens saw their leader Sonia Furstenau not get re-elected. She ran in the Victoria-Beacon Hill riding that was a tough uphill battle against incumbent cabinet minister Grace Lore.
But today the BC Greens have announced today that Furstenau will stay on as party leader.
Since the Saturday night vote results on October 19, BC Green MLA Jeremy Valeriote has told media that the BC Greens can “stabilize, collaborate and moderate” in the new government, if the Greens are approached to help support a new minority BC NDP government.
Getting down to work:
“British Columbians demonstrated that they don’t trust any one party with 100% of the power,” said Furtsenau in today’s BC Greens news release.
“They need our next government to leave the negativity and toxicity of the campaign behind, get down to work and start delivering for them. I am prepared to provide guidance and counsel as our party and our province enter this new chapter.”
In a news release today, BC Green MLAs Jeremy Valeriote (West Vancouver-Sea to Sky) and Rob Botterell (Saanich north and the Islands) said: “We’re glad to have Sonia’s strong leadership as we take on our new jobs as MLAs and navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the Legislature. We are honoured that our constituents voted to send a BC Green Caucus to Victoria and we are ready to hit the ground running for them. Voters in our riding voted their conscience. We will honour that by staying true to our principles and serving as the voice of reason in the Legislature.”
Premier Eby’s comment:
Today Premier David Eby in his first press conference since October 19 election night told media that the BC Greens have asked for some time to get organized with their approach to essentiallybeing the balance of power in the legislature.
Eby says his BC NDP team is “ready to go on day one”. But that doesn’t necessarily mean Fall 2024 as it takes time for new MLAs in particular to get up to speed on their role, including cabinet ministers who Eby has yet to appoint.
===== RELATED:
- Premier David Eby’s first press conference following thin-margin BC election results (October 22, 2024)
- BC Greens celebrate Election 2024 in Victoria (October 19, 2024)
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