Election 2019: Metro Liberal MPs talk about life in a minority government
Credit to Author: Lori Culbert| Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2019 00:03:53 +0000
Liberal MPs from B.C. believe they can work with other parties in a minority government, after voters trimmed their party’s ranks Monday night.
“I think any time that you lose a majority, there is likely time to reflect on what you are being told by the electorate,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, the Liberals’ fisheries minister who was re-elected in North Vancouver.
While he argued it is unusual for governments to win back-to-back majorities, he allowed that “there is probably a message in there that we need to digest and make sure that we think about as we look to govern in the second mandate.”
Nationally, the Liberals captured just one third of the popular vote, well below the party’s total in 2015. More Canadians cast ballots for the Conservatives in this election, but the distribution of those votes meant the Liberals won more seats.
In B.C., the Liberals will send 11 MPs to Ottawa, down from 17 in 2015. The party lost votes to the Conservatives who now have 17 B.C. MPs, a big jump over the 10 elected in 2015. The NDP have 11 and the Greens’ two, roughly the same numbers as in the last election.
Jonathan Wilkinson was re-elected in North Vancouver.
Both Wilkinson and Harjit Sajjan, who served as defence minister and is another powerful B.C. voice in Ottawa, predicted Liberal MPs can work with other progressive parties to make a minority work, similar to how B.C.’s provincial government operates.
“This is about putting a plan together, being collaborative with parliamentarians of all parties, and then make sure we deliver,” Sajjan said, shortly after his re-election in Vancouver South.
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Leader Elizabeth May represent B.C. ridings, which means opinions from this province could potentially have more sway in a minority government.
Postmedia spoke with five newly elected Liberal MPs who said they share values with the Greens and NDP on issues such as the environment, the economy, affordable housing, health care, reducing homelessness and other social justice reforms.
No one, though, mentioned the Trans Mountain pipeline, which the Liberals bought but the other progressive parties oppose. Indeed, it is one of several issues — along with electoral reform and how much money to invest in a national pharmacare plan — on which the Liberals need to narrow the gap with other parties in Ottawa.
On Tuesday, after he was re-elected in Burnaby South, Singh said the NDP will continue to oppose the pipeline expansion. But also on Tuesday, Liberal Finance Minister Bill Morneau said the prime minister will go ahead with expansion of the pipeline, despite opposition from potential power-sharing parties.
Terry Beech, re-elected in Burnaby North-Seymour riding.
The pipeline’s terminus is in Burnaby North—Seymour, where Terry Beech was re-elected for the Liberals, but with a smaller margin of victory than in 2015. Although Beech was one of only two Liberals who voted against his party’s purchase of the pipeline, he still faced outrage from environmentally minded voters.
“We’ve had some really contentious issues in my riding and that has allowed me to learn quickly on the job,” he said, adding he will reach out to disaffected voters.
“There’s a lot of people who didn’t vote for me, so my job now is to make sure that I go out and meet those groups who didn’t think they had good representation over the last four years.”
Joyce Murray, who has represented Vancouver—Quadra since 2008, believes the Liberals have a “huge amount” in common with the NDP and the Green parties, and even the Bloc, when it come to the environment.
“There are countries in the world that have done far more than Canada about climate change because people cooperated across party lines,” she said. “I’m looking forward to this new adventure.”
Joyce Murray, who was re-elected in Vancouver—Quadra.
Hedy Fry, who was re-elected in Vancouver Centre for her ninth term, served in a minority government under Liberal prime minister Paul Martin and predicted her party would negotiate with others on a “case by case basis.”
“In some instances the NDP may not agree with the way we want to do things, so that is where the negotiations come through,” the longtime MP said. “We are prepared to play nicely with the other people in the sandbox.”
Twitter: @loriculbert
With files from Canadian Press and Bloomberg