On the Fate of the Province: It's Time for the BC Conservatives

My last post I looked at the likelihood, in Quebec and Alberta, of major political shake-ups, both of which are likely to benefit new conservative parties. In BC, while the case is less clear, it seems there is a real possibility of this too.

I have been severely unimpressed with the performance of the BC Liberals as of late. This was initiated by their handling of the HST which was upsetting in two key ways. Firstly, I felt that they were extremely dishonest in the election about their intentions regarding the HST. Their actions in instituting it without citizen input or a democratic mandate further aggravated me and a great number of British Columbians. Secondly, I feel it was (and continues to be) clearly and undeniably the best economic policy for British Columbia and the country. They absolutely screwed it up. The fact of the matter is that the majority of British Columbians support free-market policy and the HST has broad support from the center-right but because the Liberals were, essentially, undemocratic about instating it we voted it down in the referendum. Now the province is worst of because of this and the fault lies squarely with the Liberals.

After years of ardent support for BC Liberal party I have chosen to give the BC Conservatives my full support. To those of you outside of the province this may seem un-extraordinary or at least to be expected from an ideologically conservative individual but in BC, for the past 20 years, the BC Liberals have been quite a different beast than Liberals federally or in any other province for that matter. The BC Liberals here are an alliance of free-market thinkers, practically of political conservatives and liberals, who allied in order to prevent destructive NDP governments from taking shape. The BC Conservatives, however, have been all but dormant and usually run very few candidates.

Under Gordon Campbell the BC Liberals were, for all intents and purposes, a conservative government that allowed --mainly as an extended olive branch-- a select few federal Liberals to join the ranks of cabinet. This fundamentally changed with Christy Clark as leader of the party and premier. She is a federal Liberal and her liberal policies are evident.

Ultimately, however, British Columbia is polarized along the lines of free-market proponents and command economy proponents (represented by the unions and NDP) and so many are comfortable voting for the BC Liberals so long as they prevent the NDP from gaining power. It allows the BC Liberals to get away with a lot: including purely undemocratic decision making (like with the HST).

The BC Conservatives essentially share my position on the HST, one which I feel the majority of British Columbians share too. The party is also a comfortable fit with the free-market consensus of the center-right in this province. They have a great leader in John Cummins who served as an invaluable Member of Parliament (as a Reformer, Canadian Alliance member, and Conservative) for nearly twenty years. I think it's time British Columbians move forward and institute some reform on our tired political landscape. Let's give the BC Conservatives a chance at governing this province. The bi-polar politics of this province have most of us feeling hostage to the whims of the BC Liberals who are increasingly unrepresentative of our opinions.

Indeed this requires a great deal of faith. The hurdles to overcome are twofold. Firstly the BC Conservatives need to establish themselves as a political force of the center-right that is here to stay. This will cause the BC Liberals to loose support from a large part of their base and cause the unraveling of the surprisingly strong (but increasingly uneasy) alliance that was created over twenty years ago. Secondly, they need to convince the mainstream voter (who doesn't read political blogs or isn't as in tune to their own political character) that they are capable of forming a stable government that will adhere to the consensus of the center-right of the province.

I think the BC Conservatives have huge potential and with huge potential comes the chance for great disappointment. I'm tired of the BC Liberals and I want something different. I hope that the BC Conservatives can replace them because voters who choose to vote for them will be risking a lot in that it may just allow the NDP to win the next election. In fact, many British Columbians likely wont change their allegiance until it becomes very clear that the Conservatives are in the better position to beat the NDP than the Liberals. This will take time. I have enough faith in the BC Conservatives at this point to park my allegiance with them and hope they can form government after the election in 2013...the health of our province depends on it.