VICTORIA — A shakeup of seismic proportions is reshaping the British Columbia political landscape a little over three months ahead of this fall's Oct. 19 election. Former political foes are forging once unimaginable unions, an established party faces annihilation at the ballot box and heavyweights from the ruling New Democrats have waited until summer to announce their retirements.
In one of the stranger developments, climate scientist and former Green party leader Andrew Weaver said he's now considering aligning with the B.C. Conservatives and Leader John Rustad, who says climate change isn't a crisis.
Weaver said he had concerns about Premier David Eby, whose New Democrats he helped put in power in 2017, as well as the exit of almost a dozen New Democrat representatives ahead of the fall vote. Cabinet stalwarts Bruce Ralston, Harry Bains and Rob Fleming have all recently announced they will not seek re-election. "It told me something very sick is going on when literally the entire team from the 2017 to 2020 period is moving on," said Weaver.
"It does not bode well for society when you have a tightly controlled central government." Eby weighed in Friday, saying it was "bizarre" Weaver might favour Rustad, who was ejected by Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon from the former BC Liberals, the centre-right party now known as BC United, because of his views on climate change. "Yes, I don't know, I must have, like, budged in line at the legislature dining room or something in front.