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Liberal Premier Christy Clark may be headed for a thrashing when British Columbians head to the polls on May 14. This week bond rating agency DBRS highlighted concerns that voters could also toss out the province's reasonable fiscal policies by electing an NDP government, saying it believes "this could result in a change in fiscal direction." That probably won't happen.

NDP leader Adrian Dix has demonstrated he clearly understands his province's opportunities and challenges. B.C. is in an enviable position relative to other provinces. It has a double-A credit rating, relatively light debt load and the Liberal's proposed budget tabled last month delivered a decently restrained plan to balance the books this fiscal year. The province's liquefied natural gas resource is a bonanza that will keep B.C. flush for years to come. Even assuming relatively weak GDP growth of 1.6 per cent in 2013 and 2.2 per cent in 2014, DBRS figures B.C. revenues will grow by 5.3 per cent this fiscal year.

Despite their widespread unpopularity, the Liberals have been good stewards of the economy. British Columbians can reasonably expect the same from Mr. Dix if he's elected. He's clearly signalled he isn't planning any seismic changes, and will pursue a modest agenda.

He's actively courted the business community and appears to have studied the history books to learn what not to do if you're a B.C. NDP premier: curry favour with the business community only to squander the goodwill with 10 years of tax hikes and labour law changes, as Mike Harcourt did. He can also point out that another ex-NDP premier, Glen Clark - who Mr. Dix once served as chief of staff - holds one of the top corporate executive jobs in B.C., as president of Jim Pattison's empire. Mr. Dix has it easier than most NDP leaders across Canada convincing voters he isn't an economic saboteur.

To be sure, there are some issues with Mr. Dix's stated positions . He plans to tear up the balanced budget law, raise corporate taxes, reinstate a minimum tax on banks, and is firmly opposed to the Northern Gateway pipeline. That doesn't herald a business-first platform. But is it much different from Ms. Clark's? Not particularly. She also promises to stand in the way of the pipeline and has proposed raising corporate and other taxes in her budget. Although we haven't yet seen Mr. Dix's formal election platform, it seems neither of the two main choices before B.C. voters is measurably worse than the other in economic terms. We expect DBRS will agree.

Sean Silcoff is a contributor to ROB Insight, the business commentary service available to Globe Unlimited subscribers. Click here for more of his Insights, and follow Sean on Twitter at @seansilcoff .

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