VANCOUVER – The Greens will seek to avoid triggering another election in British Columbia after the final results left them in the historic position of holding the balance of power in a minority government.
Press secretary Jillian Oliver says B.C. voters have little appetite for another election and party leader Andrew Weaver‘s priority is a stable minority government in which his third-place party supports either the Liberals or the New Democrats.
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Oliver says negotiations are becoming more serious now that the final results on Wednesday confirmed the Greens hold three seats compared with the Liberals’ 43 and NDP’s 41.
The party’s goal is to have an agreement by Wednesday.
Ben Chin, a spokesman for Premier Christy Clark, says there’s an “honest and constructive spirit of working together” in the discussions the Liberals have had with the Greens and there will be more to say in the coming days.
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Political scientist Cara Camcastle of Simon Fraser University says if another election is held soon, voters might elect an NDP majority, which would mean the Greens would lose their opportunity to influence government.
Weaver has said his deal breakers are official party status, proportional representation and political fundraising reform.
Political scientist Gerald Baier of the University of British Columbia says those demands show the Green leader is looking to secure his party’s future.
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