Gordon Campbell makes first speech in Vancouver as High Commissioner to UK

Former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell, who left office humbled after the disastrous mishandling of the Harmonized Sales Tax, still considers himself member of the Liberal party but admits he no longer really follows provincial politics.

That was about all Canada’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom offered on the current state of B.C. politics following a keynote speech Friday to the Vancouver Board in downtown Vancouver.

In what marked his first public address to B.C.’s business community since assuming his new post, Campbell spoke for about 30 minutes about the importance of UK/Canada relations and the upcoming summer Olympics in London.

He also offered several anecdotes about his role in Vancouver’s successful 2010 Winter Olympics and what it’s like to serve in London.

He recounted to laughter that he is the only High Commissioner to ever greet the Queen in a Ford car, not a horse-drawn carriage.

But when pressed about current political happenings, Campbell, who served as B.C.’s premier for three terms before stepping down amid record-low approval ratings, declined to comment.

“I am not going to chat about Canadian politics in any shape, whether it is federal, or provincial or local,” he said. “My job is a different job.”

Asked if he follows B.C. politics, Campbell said “No, not very much.” He did, however, admit that he did make some mistakes with the HST, although his answer was prickly.

“I’ve gone through that time and time again,” he said. “You can go back and look at what I said at the time last November. We obviously made lots of mistakes there. But people have decided what they are going to do with the HST and they will get on now with dealing with that.”

Premier Christy Clark’s office said no official meeting with Campbell has been scheduled.