Politics in British Columbia has a reputation for strange occurrences. That reputation was well earned Tuesday night.
Following months of polls showing the B.C. Liberal government on its way to a crushing defeat, British Columbia voters showed they had something else in mind. When the pollsters were finished and the votes were actually counted, the B.C. Liberals were elected to a solid majority, claiming 50 of the province’s 85 ridings.
Here in Penticton, Mayor Dan Ashton rode the Liberal wave that covered the Okanagan to earn a seat in the B.C. Legislature in Victoria.
But the election night victory did not come without a political price to the Liberals. Premier Christy Clark lost her own seat in Vancouver-Point Grey to David Eby of the NDP. Clark is likely to run in a byelection is a safe Liberal riding.
While there had been much talk of disgruntled Liberals dumping Clark following election defeat, the premier has become an overnight sensation in the eyes of the party faithful. And rightfully so, Clark has guided the Liberals from the jaws of almost certain defeat to a comfortable majority for the next four years.
Clark has proven to be a skillful campaigner since edging Kevin Falcon for the party leadership two years ago. She managed to move the party to the left on a host of issues that stole the middle ground from the NDP, and orchestrated a string of relentless attacks on Adrian Dix and New Democrats that erased a double-digit lead in the polls and cemented one of the biggest comebacks in Canadian political history.
In the end, Clark was successful in stoking a fear of change among an electorate desperate for signs of an economic recovery. It was a stroke of political genius. British Columbians must now hope she proves just as effective at governing.
