Despite strong opposition, Liberal incumbent Jordan Sturdy cruised to a comfortable victory on election night in West Vancouver Sea to Sky.
Reflecting a trend that saw strong Liberal support sag across the North Shore, Sturdy snagged 43 per cent of the vote, a drop of nine per cent from the 2013 election. The Green Party’s Dana Taylor won 28 per cent and the NDP’s Michelle Livaja finished right behind with 27 per cent.
Discussing the rising Green tide, Sturdy said improving the environmental assessment process will be a top priority.
The assessment process was decried by many activists following the approval of the Woodfibre LNG plant on the pulp mill site southwest of Squamish.
“I think it’s important people have confidence in process and in government,” he said. “We have to work harder to earn that.”
The former Pemberton mayor welcomed a more collaborative approach to governing.
“It’ll be a new world,” Sturdy said.
With the Green Party poised to be a force in the new Legislature, Taylor was adamant his party “hold the line” on key policies.
“I’m certain … we were successful because what we were offering was substantially different from the others,” he said. “We don’t have to change anything.”
While there’s a chasm between B.C. Liberals are the Greens on social and environmental issues – particularly the Site C dam and liquefied natural gas projects – Taylor suggested there is some common ground.
There’s a “financial conservatism” that runs through the Greens he said, adding: “but that’s probably where it ends.”
The Green Party more than doubled their support on Tuesday night from the 2013 election, which Taylor said was overdue.
“(I) looked at those old numbers and said: ‘This place is a lot greener than that.’”
Taylor estimated he took about 2,000 votes that went Liberal last time around.
“We took the votes from the Liberals mostly, and about 1,000 from the NDP,” he said.
However, West Vancouver continues to be the “hardest sell” in the riding, he said.
The decisive issue in the riding was the Woodfibre LNG plant, according to NDP candidate Michelle Livaja.
While there’s often an environmentalist/labour schism on energy projects, concern over LNG was “across the board,” according to Livaja.
Discussing the five per cent drop in support for her party compared to 2013, Livaja suggested things didn’t go wrong for the NDP as much as much as they went right for the Green Party.
“The Greens had a tremendously strong showing,” she said.
Overall, the election shows voters want the province to move in a different direction, she said.
“There is a call for change in the air,” she said.
In a mock election, elementary and high school students in the riding elected the Green party.
All voting results – except for the mock election – are unofficial until certified by Elections B.C.
-with files from the Squamish Chief
