British Columbia’s Conservative Party has won a majority government in the province’s snap election, ending nine years of New Democratic Party rule. Preliminary results put the Conservatives leading or elected in 62 to 64 of the province’s 93 ridings, well above the 47 needed for a majority, with the NDP on 27 to 29 and the Greens on two.
Interim Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson is set to become premier, leading the province’s first Conservative government in nearly a century. NDP leader David Eby, whose snap-election gamble backfired, announced he would step down as party leader.
Doerkson campaigned on tax cuts and a major expansion of liquefied natural gas production, while his government faces a record provincial deficit and housing and drug crises. For Pakistan, the result is worth watching because Canadian energy policy, including LNG, feeds into the global gas supply picture that affects import costs.
Sources: Sunday Guardian, Elections BC preliminary results. Written in our own words for information only.