In wake of bitter race, Liberals, NDP both look to court Greens

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After a particularly nasty election campaign that began with negative ads even before the writ was dropped and continued with personal attacks, British Columbia's three political leaders are having to flex some diplomacy and conciliation skills to shape the province's future.

The Liberals won 43 seats, the NDP 41 and the Greens three in the 87-seat legislature. With one more seat, the Liberals would have a majority. But instead, they are in a minority position, the first in the province since 1952, and must woo the support of the ideologically distant Green MLAs to govern.

If they can't, the NDP, whose platform has more similarities, would be quite happy to court the Greens and secure power. But after a history between NDP Leader John Horgan and Green Leader Andrew Weaver that has included bitterness, they'd have to get along.

Read more: BC Green Leader would be well-advised to tread cautiously

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Bob Rae, Ontario's former NDP leader when his party signed a two-year accord with the Ontario Liberals, said the trick for the Greens will be staying true to their principles while using the chance to influence government.

Mr. Rae said when he teamed with the Liberals in 1985 to end 42 years of Progressive Conservative government in Ontario, he was cautious not to put the party on the "wrong side of the change argument" – a positioning that would have come with backing the Progressive Conservatives.

"That's a risk Mr. Weaver runs. If there is a change argument in B.C., he will want to make sure he doesn't get caught on the wrong side of it," Mr. Rae said.

He said that a two-year co-operation accord the parties signed in Ontario provided better stability for both the governing Liberals and their NDP partners than a day-to-day agreement to support the Liberals.

It also provided benefits to the NDP.

"We could say here's an agreement we negotiated with the government. Here's the program that has been introduced and here's why it's a good idea," Mr. Rae said.

"There are a lot of people who were critical of it, who said that's the end of the NDP, but the reality is three years after the end of the accord, we formed a majority government. Obviously, it put something in the mind of the electorate to persuade them we were serious about governing and making a difference."

More recently, in Alberta, Danielle Smith led eight other Wildrose Alliance MLAs to cross the floor to join the Progressive Conservatives under the leadership of then-premier Jim Prentice.

It wasn't a minority situation: She didn't have to do it. But in an interview Wednesday, she said there are benefits to co-operation.

She said a Green-NDP arrangement in B.C. would allow Mr. Horgan to cast himself as an effective deal maker who voters could trust with a majority mandate. And Mr. Weaver would have a chance to be taken seriously.

But she said there are limits to Mr. Weaver's clout. "You can't overplay your hand when you are a three-seat party," she said, referring to the BC Greens.

On Wednesday, the day after B.C.'s historic election, all three parties were attempting to examine their options while keeping doors open.

Mr. Horgan was vague about next steps. He said his staff is in touch with Mr. Weaver's staff about further talks on co-operation.

"If Mr. Weaver and others want to join with me, I am happy to do that," Mr. Horgan said. "I am prepared to work with anyone who wants to make life better for British Columbians."

He said further talks with Mr. Weaver are in the works, but he wouldn't elaborate.

The Liberals, for their part, are also looking for ways to appeal to Mr. Weaver.

In Victoria, the Green Party Leader was coy when asked by journalists about supporting one party over the other to help form a minority government, noting he had talks planned with Ms. Clark and Mr. Horgan that day.

"Certainly, we are putting our platform and our priorities forward and enjoying the conversation [with the two other parties]," he said. "It's public policy first. Partisan politics? We're not interested."