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British Columbians Split Over Future Of Provincial Legislature

Craig McCulloch
BC New Democratic Party Leader John Horgan (left) addresses supporters in Coquitlam, in suburban Vancouver on Sunday. BC Liberal Party Leader and incumbent Premier Christy Clark (right) speaks at a campaign rally Saturday.

After a 28-day campaign, the results are still not final in the British Columbia general election. The current numbers are very tight, with the Green Party potentially playing a significant role in deciding which party will lead the next provincial government.

The results were expected to be close, but few political watchers expected them to be this tight.

The politically right leaning B.C. Liberal Party of incumbent Premier Christy Clark currently has enough elected members to form a minority government. 

Pending recounts and absentee ballots, they are only slightly ahead of the New Democratic Party of John Horgan, which is to the left on the political spectrum.

The Green Party of Andrew Weaver has just enough elected members to form a coalition with either party, or let the Liberals form a minority government. 

Canada follows the British parliamentary system, where the party with the most elected members to a legislature forms the next government.  The party leader becomes premier. 

Several cross border issues were raised in the campaign: the Liberal’s wanting to ban the export of American thermal coal, an expansion of a pipeline that would see a dramatic increase in oil tankers through Puget Sound, and the lingering dispute over softwood lumber.