67 Hanging by a Thread: British Columbia’s NDP Minority Government David Mitchell Among the other effects of British Columbia’s recent improbably close election is that the province is living through the rare experience of minority government. Be- cause of the precariousness of the NDP’s control of the legislature, the possible scenarios for the province’s pol- itics have been multiplied exponentially. Former MLA David Mitchell games out the future. ere’s a skill-testing question: will be fascinating to see what they How many NDP premiers do with the opportunity. has British Columbia had? H Given that it’s been 16 years since Can you name them? the NDP last governed in Victoria, Premier John Horgan’s minority NDP govern- This is a surprisingly difficult quiz, you’d be forgiven for puzzling over ment will have a bit more breathing room in the legislature now that Christy Clark even for most British Columbians. the questions posed above. The truth has stepped down as Liberal leader and also Ever since 1933, when the NDP’s is John Horgan has now become the resigned her seat. BC NDP Flickr photo predecessor, the CCF, became Brit- sixth NDP premier of the province, ish Columbia’s official opposition, preceded by: Dave Barrett, Mike Har- So, the new B.C. government could model itself on the stable approaches the left-leaning option has been the court, Glen Clark, Dan Miller, and of Allan Blakeney or Roy Romanow province’s would-be alternative. But Ujjal Dosanjh. it’s a tribute to the political effec- in Saskatchewan or Gary Doer in Today, the only Canadian NDP gov- tiveness of a variety of anti-socialist Manitoba. Or it could burn itself out ernments are located in the two west- coalitions that the NDP has served like the one-term administrations of ernmost provinces. And at present, as the governing party for only 13 Bob Rae in Ontario or Darrell Dexter the governments of B.C. and Alberta years. in Nova Scotia. seem to have as many policy differ- Closer to home, will Premier Hor- Now that they’ve secured one of their ences as similarities. However, there gan position himself as a moderate rare chances to govern this divided are numerous examples of previous leader, like former B.C. Premier Mike and polarized province, questions re- NDP governments in our country that Harcourt? Or will he let the pent-up main: how long will they last? And can serve as useful reference points for can they find a way to convert their ambitions of his long-serving op- Premier Horgan. While the party has position party get the better of him, minority government into a majority never been victorious in a federal elec- at the next provincial election? like the province’s first NDP Premier, tion, the NDP has actually governed Dave Barrett? With such a tenuous grip on pow- in a majority of Canadian provinces. er—41 seats to the Liberals’ 42 and In addition to B.C. and Alberta, they n the B.C. context, what is truly dependent on the support of the include Saskatchewan, Manitoba, On- remarkable is how John Horgan three elected Green party MLAs—it tario, Nova Scotia and the Yukon. I fits into a noteworthy pattern September/October 2017 68 that crosses party lines and which has consistently seen dramatic personal- Today, the only Canadian NDP governments are ity differences in successive elected located in the two westernmost provinces. And at leaders. The province has long been present, the governments of B.C. and Alberta seem to have known for electing flamboyant, as many policy differences as similarities. confident, larger-than-life premiers, whose personalities have often over- shadowed their party’s policies or ide- ology. Less commonly noted is that ous policy and governance issues. Fol- Christy Clark’s resignation as leader in order to recover from the excesses lowing the indecisive election results, of the Liberal party and as an MLA of the politics of personality, British the formation of the government ac- has given the NDP a bit of breath- Columbians have unfailingly found tually provided a good civics lesson ing room, for a few months at least. respite in rather bland and colour- for British Columbians: it’s not nec- In the short term, the government less personalities in their subsequent essarily the party that wins the larg- won’t need to count on the Speaker choice of premier. est number of seats or most votes that to cast a deciding vote on all matters forms a government; rather, it’s the that come before the legislature. But Will Premier Horgan party that can command the confi- a by-election to fill Clark’s vacant position himself as a dence of the legislature. For as long as seat can’t be long deferred and a new moderate leader, like former the NDP maintains that confidence, leader of the Liberal party may be it will need to demonstrate an abil- keen to try to defeat the NDP govern- B.C. Premier Mike Harcourt? ity to provide a steady approach and ment at an early opportunity. Or will he let the pent-up sound public policy. The average duration of minority gov- ambitions of his long- How the government is able to man- ernments in Canada is approximately serving opposition party get age a minefield of issues, including 18 months. With that in mind, Pre- the better of him, like the the proposed expansion of the Kind- mier Horgan almost certainly has his province’s first NDP Premier, er Morgan pipeline, the future of the eye out for an exit ramp leading to Site C dam project on the Peace River the next provincial election. And he Dave Barrett? and the commitment to the Greens would be well-advised to study the of pursuing the seemingly cursed fortune of the only other minority goal of electoral reform, will provide government in B.C. history. key tests for the NDP. Following the indecisive 1952 pro- vincial election, W.A.C. Bennett be- e know that minority gov- came premier of B.C.’s first Social ernments can be produc- In this sense, the rather understated Credit government. Lacking a major- tive; there’s of plenty Horgan is a perfect antidote to the W ity of seats in the legislature, the wily of evidence of this in other parts of garrulous and outgoing Christy Clark, Bennett knew that his inexperienced Canada, including at the federal lev- administration couldn’t last for long. just as she served as a counterpoint el. But B.C. doesn’t have much expe- He therefore worked hard on a strat- to the technocratic Gordon Camp- rience with minority administrations egy to engineer his government’s bell who, in turn, followed the fire- and of critical importance is the role defeat on an issue he could success- breathing partisanship of Glen Clark. of the Greens in holding the balance fully take to the people in an election Indeed, one could pursue this histori- of power. campaign. The issue was a complex cal trail of elected B.C. premiers back Some observers have suggested that education financing measure that in time with surprising consistency. the electoral breakthrough for the favoured rural school districts. Ben- If the pattern holds in the future, Greens has heralded a transforma- nett’s strategy paid off; his govern- Horgan will almost certainly be fol- tion of the party system in B.C. ment was defeated in the House and lowed by a more colourful populist Based upon parliamentary experi- he went on to win his coveted major- premier who fits this well-established ence elsewhere, however, junior ity government in the 1953 election, B.C. tradition. But it’s worth noting partners in governing coalitions or less than a year after he had become that the big-personality B.C. pre- alliances often suffer political mis- premier. He would remain in office as miers, such as Bill Vander Zalm, have fortune. It’s just as possible, there- premier for two decades. generally not served for as long in of- fore, that the Greens will end up as David Mitchell is a political historian, fice as those who were less colourful, either a passing fancy or as political former B.C. MLA and currently serves like Bill Bennett. roadkill in the next general election as President & CEO of the Calgary In the meantime, the fledgling NDP if B.C. returns to its traditional po- Chamber of Voluntary Organizations. minority government faces numer- larized model. [email protected] Policy .