Premier David Eby says NDP will need Opposition MLAs' support to improve quality of life in B.C.
Eby not ruling out possibility of Conservative Speaker of the House
The morning after his party was asked to form government, Premier David Eby said he was feeling well rested for the "first time in a long time."
"It's been a long nine days awaiting the results of this very close election," he told Stephen Quinn, the host of CBC's The Early Edition.
"It was a good sleep last night for the first time in a while."
But now, the premier says he and his party have their work cut out for them after a close election showed that British Columbians want more from the NDP.
"They're asking us to do better, but they're also giving us the opportunity to do better," Eby said.
WATCH | Premier David Eby says he wants to work with the Opposition to meet voters' expectations:
The NDP's priorities continue to be the cost of living, housing, health care, public safety and climate change, Eby said Tuesday.
But he said none of that can be accomplished without the support of Conservative and Green MLAs in the legislature.
Eby acknowledged the strength of the B.C. Conservative's campaign, which highlighted British Columbia's desire for measures to improve affordability and public safety, a campaign that earned the party 43 per cent of the popular vote.
At a news conference later in the day, Eby said he's committed to working with MLAs from all parties to make B.C. a better place to live for all.
"We're going to need to work across the aisle on different initiatives," he said.
In fact, he said he's not ruling out the idea of making a Conservative MLA the Speaker of the House.
"My commitment to every MLA that was elected is that if you share our values around making sure that this is a welcoming province for everyone, making sure that we're going to fight hate and racism, these are non-negotiables for us, then we're happy to work with you to make sure that the legislature … works for British Columbians," Eby said.
"It's an open invitation to any MLA to work with us. There are a number of ways that MLAs could work with us to deliver for British Columbians. One of those ways is certainly Speaker of the House."
Rustad responds
Conservative Leader John Rustad said he is aware that the NDP has talked to some of his MLAs about becoming Speaker of the House but isn't keen on the idea.
"At this stage, I would not be offering one of our members to be Speaker to support the agenda that [Eby] ran on," he said Tuesday afternoon.
"Our job now going forward … is to make sure that we fight for the values and fight for the things that the Conservative Party stands for."
Rustad made it clear his party will only work with the NDP if it pushes forward policy that aligns with the Conservative platform.
"If they're going to continue on with the pace, with the destruction they've wreaked upon this province with their previous seven years, they'll find us vehemently opposed."
In particular, he said he'll be fighting hard to support forestry jobs.
Rustad said on election night that his party would "look at every single opportunity from day one to bring [the NDP] down," promising to take British Columbians back to the polls, and on Tuesday, he reiterated that if the NDP pushes forward on policies the Conservatives do not agree with, his party will do everything it can to "take him down."
Eby said the last thing voters want is another election.
"I disagree with John Rustad on that as well as on several other critically important issues, but that doesn't mean that we can't find ways to potentially work together on the priorities of British Columbians," he said. "I'm open to that, as long as we all respect that bright line of making sure this province rejects hate and division and conspiracy."
Urban vs. rural communities
Save for Haida Gwaii and a couple of Kootenay ridings, the province's Interior and north voted in Conservative representatives — which means that the governing party will be largely made up of MLAs representing southern Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.
When asked how the interests of British Columbians outside the South Coast would be represented, Eby said he was confident in the MLAs elected in other parts of the province but that the party will need to engage with rural communities to better represent their interests.
"I do see an urban-rural divide in the election results that's very concerning to me," Eby said. We need to govern for the entire province … if one part of the province is not successful, then the whole province is going to struggle. We need to work together as British Columbians."
Clearwater, B.C., Mayor Merlin Blackwell said the NDP needs to start meeting with rural communities now.
"Yesterday was too late, really," he said.
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With files from The Early Edition