Subject: bc election results & analysis
below is a brief summary of the bc election results and some analysis into the new political party ' s ' implication . as the new bc energy strategy further develops , we will provide a more detailed follow - up reports .
executive summary
? new democratic party sweeps election
? opposition within newly elected party possible
? campbell to consider dividing bc energy and mines portfolio
ndp election
as expected , the ndp was " wiped out " by the liberal party . at this point , the liberals have secured 74 of 79 " ridings " ( a " riding " is the bc terminology for an open seat ) , while the ndp has won only three . counting has not yet been completed in another riding , though it is expected to go to the liberals , as well . the final riding , in victoria , is disputed due to approximately 700 absentee ballots . the ndp is currently trailing the liberals by 50 votes . this dispute is not expected to be resolved until 29 may , when all absentee ballots will be counted . no other parties secured seats , though sources report that the greens acted as a " spoiler " for the ndp in several cases .
opposition party
sources speculate that it is possible that , due to the poor showing by the ndp , a new opposition might form within the ranks of the liberals . approximately five former members of the social credit party ( which was disbanded in the early 1990 s ) were elected to liberal seats . sources state that it is possible that these members could re - form the social credit party within the legislature to act as an opposition to the liberal government . sources also state that richard neufeld , as a former reform party member , might choose to join this opposition if it forms , though there is no read at this time as to how likely this is to occur . otherwise , due to the landslide , campbell ' s liberal government is expected to have a " carte blanche " to do whatever it wants .
minister of energy & mines
campbell is expected to focus on forming his cabinet first . there reportedly is a considerable pay gap between the cabinet and the " backbenchers " ( mlas ) , meaning that there is likely to be " considerable jockeying " for positions . however , there are 6 - 10 obvious contenders , including richard neufeld , who is likely to be named energy minister . sources report that campbell intends to reduce the size of the cabinet somewhat , though the size of the reduction is not known at this time . however , he reportedly may be planning to split the energy and mines portfolio off from northern development , forming two separate positions . it is also possible that energy and mines could be combined with other positions to form a larger natural resources portfolio .