(CASA) that allowed the NDP to lead a func-
tional coalition government, despite having
fewer seats than the Liberals.
That agreement, and the relationship
on which it was built, continues to stand—
though soon enough it may wobble.
Weaver attributes the original
CASA suc-
cess to two factors: the Liberal Party's fail-
ure to bring anything to the table; and John
Horgan's willingness to work past some
troubled history and make …rm commit-
ments on the issues that mattered most to
the Greens. To the …rst point, Weaver says
that he had a longer, better relationship
with the Liberals, based in part on his admi-
ration for ex-premier Gordon Campbell's
leadership in introducing the …rst carbon
tax in North America. But Campbell's suc-
cessor, Christy Clark, had been undermin-
ing B.C.'s admirable climate policies and
seemed disinterested in negotiating a deal
with the Greens. Even today, Weaver says,
"The Liberals still don't understand that
they lost the election."
As to the second point, when the May
2017 election produced a deadlock, with the
Greens holding the balance of power, Weaver
and Horgan were barely on speaking terms.
After the
NDP's narrow loss to the Liberals in
2013, many New Democrats (perhaps includ-
ing Horgan) blamed the Greens, imagining
that Weaver and company had appropriated
part of "the
NDP vote." Thereafter, Horgan,
as the
NDP House Leader, seemed do every-
thing in his power to deny airtime to Weaver,
the lone Green member of the legislative
assembly
(MLA). They were not friends.
But as it turned out, the two men are both
rugby a•icionados—the kind of no-holds-
barred combatants who like nothing more
than spending the afternoon bloodying one
another's noses and then retiring to the bar
together for a few cold ones. Horgan (see
p.30) now describes that to-and-fro in genteel
and diplomatic terms: "Andrew and I know
we can be very direct with each other—we
have to be. We get on very well, and I appreci-
ate his perspective, even when we disagree."
The
CASA negotiations were a turning
point, Horgan says. "Andrew and I worked
through policy issues and found out how
much we have in common. The relation-
ship—even with the occasional ups and
downs—has only deepened since then. I
think we're both aware our agreement is
breaking new ground, and the responsibil-
ity is both intimidating and exciting."
In short, Horgan and Weaver have built
the kind of deep and abiding trust that
Liquefied natural gas:
the industry already
undid Christy Clark, who
overpromised and then
crashed when no
LNG
plants were approved
during her tenure.
Weaver argues that this
issue could also prove
the undoing of the
NDP. It
certainly could undo the
Green–
NDP coalition
uvic.ca / worldsfirst
