Leaders press for votes on day before B.C. election
RICHMOND, B.C. — Christy Clark says British Columbia voters who want more jobs and no deficits will have a clear choice when they cast their ballots during Tuesday’s provincial election.
The Liberal leader is touting her party as the choice for young people who want to avoid a future of crippling provincial debt that she says would be inevitable under an NDP or Green government.
Clark has a packed schedule on the final day of the four-week campaign, with stops scheduled across the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island.
Fielding questions outside an airport hangar in Richmond, Clark dismissed suggestions she would collaborate with the Green party if no party wins a majority, saying neither it nor the NDP have anything in common with the Liberals.
There have only been three minority governments in B.C.’s political history, with the last in 1952.
10 things to know about the B.C. election
Voters in British Columbia go to the polls on Tuesday. Here are 10 things to know about B.C. politics: The Liberals have been in power since 2001, but Christy Clark didn’t become premier until 2011.
John Horgan was acclaimed NDP leader three years ago and first won a legislature seat in 2005.
Green Leader Andrew Weaver was part of a group of scientists who shared a Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore for their work on climate change.
This election has 87 seats up for grabs, but at dissolution the Liberals held 47 seats in the legislature.
Liberals are promising a personal income tax freeze, a cut to the small business tax, and four more balanced budgets on top of the five straight already recorded.
The NDP would increase the corporate tax rate, bring in $10-a-day child care and give renters a $400 annual rebate.
The Greens say they would overhaul the tax system to pay for spending on child care, education, public health and the environment.
The Liberal Party of British Columbia is not affiliated with the Liberal Party of Canada and describes itself as “a made-in-B.C. free enterprise coalition.”
The last time B.C. had a minority government was in 1952, one of only three in the province’s history.
The NDP was in power from 1991 to 2001 after defeating Social Credit and had four different party leaders during their time in office.