Among the thousands gathered at Alberta’s legislature last weekend to celebrate the swearing-in ceremony of a NDP government was a certain leader from British Columbia.
No, not Christy Clark.
“It was like a folk festival, a rock concert outdoors,” said B.C. NDP leader John Horgan, who said he was awed by the size of the crowd.
“It was pretty exciting, I don’t know any other way to describe it.”
READ MORE: Rachel Notley sworn in as 17th premier of Alberta
As he watched the NDP officially form government for the first time in Alberta’s history, Horgan admitted it was impossible not to think of lessons that could be drawn upon for his own party.
“We’re two drastically different places, without any doubt, but there’s a yearning for change,” he said.
“There was a variety of reasons why Mr. Prentice was unsuccessful, but the notion that jurisdictions like Norway can have billions and billions in surplus, no debt whatsoever, free public education, free advanced education, free free free free free, based on the responsible stewardship of their natural resource—oil, gas—and Alberta is $7 billion in the red, and debt climbing up.”
He then underlines the similarities between B.C. and Alberta when it comes to ongoing energy debates.
“The public, whether they be British Columbians, Albertans or Canadians generally, are increasingly of the view that we’re not getting the best deal possible for the resources that belong to all of us.”
It’s a theme Horgan returns to multiple times in his interview with Global News at the end of the legislative session. When it comes to natural resource development, the question isn’t whether it should happen—it’s whether the provincial government is getting its fair share.
“I support getting our resources to higher-priced markets, but I also want to make sure we’re getting the maximum benefit from it. As a coastal dweller, raw log exports infuriate me. These are jobs and dollars, tax dollars. You get the stumpage for the tree falling, and a truck driver gets a salary to get it to tidewater, but that’s it. I grew up in the forest sector, it helped finance my advanced education. I worked in a pulp mill. Adding value to our wood resource has been the backbone of our economy, so why in the world would we be paying large multinational corporations premiums, or giving them tax breaks, concessions and credits to extract our resources?”
Horgan became NDP leader in May of 2014. It came at the end of a miserable year for his party—a surprise election loss, former premier Mike Harcourt not renewing his membership, a lacklustre leadership race—but most observers agree that Horgan has righted the ship in his first year on the job, holding the government to account while avoiding internal battles.
“He’s actually grown into the job,” says Global News legislative chief Keith Baldrey.
Inside the house, the NDP’s strategy has been marked by a combative approach that seeks to attack—and break news—on different files every day. On the sale of government land on Burke Mountain, on the performance of the now-fired Auditor General for Local Government, and a host of other issues, the NDP have put the government on the defensive.
BALDREY: Opposition is finally hitting its stride
The effort seems to be paying off. In an Insights West poll released this week, 43 per cent of respondents said they would vote for the NDP, compared to 37 per cent for the Liberals. In the same poll, Horgan had a 43 per cent approval rating, compared to just 30 per cent for Premier Christy Clark.
“I don’t hold past to polls, certainly not two years out from an election, not two weeks out,” says Horgan, his voice carrying the reminder of his party’s misplaced confidence last election, “but the themes the poll touched upon are what I’m hearing wherever I go. The Premier over-promised, in a kind of Hail Mary sort of way…and now the chickens are coming home to roost.”
When Horgan talks about the Liberals “over-promising and under-delivering,” he talks about rising MSP, BC Hydro and ICBC and ferry rates; he keeps a moderate tone on natural resource issues, and hopes that the party is positioning itself as a plausible alternative to the Liberals.
Whether that will make a difference come election time remains to be seen.
“Historically, the centre-right, free-enterprise wins every single election, albeit by close margins, unless there’s a significant split on the centre-right side,” said Baldrey.
“There are just not enough numbers for the NDP in a tight battle, but the Alberta NDP have shown anything can happen.”
For now, Horgan looks forward to a summer touring the province, trying to gain the trust of voters that ordinarily haven’t voted his party.
“I’ve been trying to reach out to as many groups as possible to say my values are your values,” says Horgan.
“I don’t do what you do, but I understand why you do it.”
Comments