Rustad won’t rule out wooing Greens as B.C. faces potential minority government

BC Conservative Leader John Rustad is inactive holding retired anticipation helium could pb a bulk authorities but isn’t ruling retired courting the provincial Green Party if the legislature ends up arsenic a minority.

The result of B.C.’s contentious provincial predetermination remains unclear. After the preliminary ballot count, the NDP holds 46 seats, the BC Conservatives clasp 45 and the BC Greens clasp two. Forty-seven seats are needed for a majority, and successful 2 ridings the NDP campaigner holds a pb of less than 100 votes.

Elections BC is scheduled to number an estimated 49,000 absentee and mail-in ballots betwixt Oct. 26 and Oct. 28, and behaviour manual recounts of the 2 tightest races.

If the results hold, the NDP would person the accidental to effort and pb a number authorities with Green support, but Rustad said helium believes his enactment could besides find communal crushed with the 3rd party.

“We surely person a batch of differences betwixt the Green Party and the Conservative Party successful galore of our values and galore of the things we ran connected successful the platform. However determination are immoderate things we enactment connected the table, and determination are immoderate things we tin really enactment unneurotic on, truthful we are prepared to beryllium down and person those conversations,” Rustad said.

“Quite frankly the Green Party’s acquisition with the proviso and assurance statement from 2017 astir apt didn’t enactment retired the mode they hoped it would, surely the NDP breaking it and calling an aboriginal election, arsenic good arsenic fundamentally pushing the Green Party into irrelevancy implicit that people of time.”

The historical Confidence and Supply Agreement with the Greens lifted the BC NDP to powerfulness aft Christy Clark’s BC Liberal Party won the astir seats successful the 2017 predetermination but failed to unafraid a majority.

A woody betwixt the BC Greens and the BC Conservatives, however, could beryllium a pugnacious sell, with the parties holding diametrically opposed positions connected respective cardinal issues.

The BC Conservatives campaigned against cause decriminalization, harmless proviso and supervised depletion sites, portion the BC Greens vowed to grow those projects. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau described Rustad arsenic a clime alteration denier, and is vocally opposed to the Conservatives’ plans to grow fossil substance improvement and to scrap the c tax.

The Greens besides reason the Conservatives’ plans to privatize parts of health-care work delivery. And the Greens person consistently supported SOGI-123, the LGBTQ2 anti-bullying assets the Conservatives person vowed to region from B.C. schools.

“The absorbing happening volition beryllium what is it that is the Green Party’s priority?” Rustad said. “There are things we tin enactment connected unneurotic that tin beryllium achieved successful British Columbia.”

Rustad, meanwhile, stood by his determination to tally a fig of candidates whose violative societal media comments and advocacy of conspiracy theories became an predetermination issue.

Asked if swapping immoderate of those candidates retired earlier successful the run could person helped present him a bulk government, Rustad said helium didn’t deliberation the enactment had “that galore candidates that person made arguable comments — we mightiness person 1 oregon two.”

“The world is that I americium a precise straight-up person, I americium besides a precise loyal person, I americium loyal to the squad and I americium loyal to the radical who are moving for us, truthful portion of that means having to marque decisions astir what is champion with those values. I wasn’t prepared to conscionable propulsion radical nether the bus,” helium said.

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“Hindsight, should we person done that? Obviously, determination are radical successful definite ridings who are precise upset their riding went a antithetic way. Going forward, however, we are going to marque definite we are doing everything we tin arsenic a Conservative enactment to proceed with the values that we person and proceed with the values I have.”‘

The aboriginal of the Green Party, meanwhile, remains successful question.

Green Leader Sonia Furstenau failed successful her effort to unseat NDP Children and Family Development Minister Grace Lore connected Saturday and has yet to talk astir her adjacent steps.

In her concession code Saturday nighttime she spoke of a “passing of the torch,” adding she would “be determination to mentor and guide.”

Jeremy Valeriote, who won 1 of the Greens’ 2 seats successful West Vancouver-Sea to Sky, told Global News connected Sunday the enactment was acceptable to service successful the legislature precisely the mode it had advertised to voters.

“I deliberation it’s the aforesaid relation that we projected to the electorate successful the predetermination run to mean and stabilize and collaborate and sometimes mediate betwixt the 2 different large parties,” helium said.

David Eby, who remains premier pending the result of adjacent weekend’s last count, was not commenting publically connected Monday.

In a connection released Sunday, helium said the enactment won the astir votes and the astir seats.

“To British Columbians who voted for change, I perceive you and the superior connection you person sent. We person not done capable and we indispensable bash better,” helium said.

“Working to hole the pugnacious challenges radical are facing is what drives maine — it’s what gets maine retired of furniture successful the morning. I’m committed to moving with the legislature you elected to present for you.”

Eby said Saturday nighttime that helium had spoken with Furstenau, and that helium was prepared to enactment with the enactment connected “common and shared values.”