Christy Clark to test the house, NDP minority government expected

Following a defeatist speech from Christy Clark on Tuesday morning, it appears almost certain that the NDP will govern British Columbia with a minority government.

Speaking at the Premier's Vancouver office, Christy Clark announced that, despite the odds, she will follow constitutional convention and move forward with testing the B.C. Legislature very shortly to see if she can retain her position as the Premier of British Columbia.

“We have a duty to meet the house and to test its confidence, constitutional convention tells us that. And I intend to do that in very short order, certainly before the end maybe closer to the beginning of the month of June,” said Clark.

“We all know that Mr. Horgan and Mr. Weaver have made an agreement, they've announced a significant deal. But... if there is going to be a transfer of power in this province, and certainly it seems like there will be, it shouldn't be done behind closed doors. It should happen in public and constitutional convention tells us it should.”

https://t.co/zVbcgwr3Sn

— Christy Clark (@christyclarkbc) May 30, 2017

When questioned by reporters on whether she would accept becoming Leader of the Opposition, Clark responded saying she would be more than ready to take on the job.

"I am happy to take on any job that the voters will give me. Should the government fail the test of confidence in the house which seems likely, I will be given the job of leader of the opposition. And I am more than ready to take that job on."

Clark also responded to queries about the prospect of a second election, saying that the decision would ultimately be up to the lieutenant governor

“That is [a second election] up to the lieutenant governor. Should my government not meet the test of confidence in the house, which I think is likely, then she would I think ask the NDP as the party that got the second largest number of seats whether or not they could govern. She will make that decision."

According to Carey Doberstein, Political Science professor at UBC’s Okanagan campus, we should expect the Clark era to end very soon with a potential leadership contest to follow.

Ultimately, the big question now shouldn’t be which party will form government, but rather how long will an NDP and Green alliance last.

“I don't see a scenario whereby the Liberals are able to form government given this NDP and Green agreement, so we are looking at an NDP minority government,” said Doberstein. “The big question is how long it will last, notwithstanding the intention for them to govern for four years. Four years is a long time in politics and the new government will no doubt confront issues that put them at odds with the Greens. That said, both the NDP and Greens have strong incentives to stay united for as long as they can.”

So there you have it, unless Christy Clark is able to pull off a miracle and survive a no-confidence vote in the house, it looks certain that NDP leader John Horgan will be the next Premier of British Columbia.