Business loves certainty and the only certainty in a minority legislature is uncertainty.
That is not good, according to business leaders.
As of 10:20 p.m. tonight (Oct. 19) the New Democratic Party (NDP) has 46 seats, the BC Conservatives have 45 seats and the BC Greens have two seats.
Votes are not entirely counted so the result could change. There also will be recounts for seats where the vote difference is less than 100.
The Greens, as of now, however, hold a balance of power. This is a similar situation to 2017, when there was a minority government and the Greens threw their support behind the NDP, and signed what the two sides called a confidence and supply agreement.
The Greens then backed the NDP and voted with them until then-NDP Premier John Horgan called a snap election in 2020, without first consulting with the Greens and breaking the promise he made to the Greens to govern for four years until the next fixed election date.
Minority governments have been few and far between in B.C. as the previous most recent minority government to 2017 was the W.A,C. Bennett minority government in 1952.
"The worst of all options would be a BC Greens-NDP coalition," Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of B.C. (ICBA) CEO Chris Gardner told BIV.
"If you listen to [BC Greens leader] Sonia Furstenau now, committing what she would want the NDP to do, I will say that it will be a very, very expensive and costly term of government for B.C."
While the Greens are ahead in two seats, Furstenau is not one of them. Rob Botterell is ahead with nearly all votes counted in Saanich North and the Islands while Jeremy Valeriote is ahead in West Vancouver Sea to Sky with nearly all votes counted.
Geller Group president Michael Geller expressed dismay to BIV about the result. His company specializes in planning and real-estate consulting for a variety of large and small residential and mixed-use projects.
"They often say the worst thing for the stock market is uncertainty, and the worst thing for the development community is uncertainty," Geller said.
"With no clear-cut decision and one that is uncertain, I think we'll see a lot of development simply stall."
Other business leaders were hopeful.
“We hope that all parties can come to a swift agreement to form a stable government that will focus on building a strong economy," said the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’ (CFIB) director for B.C. and western economic policy, Jairo Yunis.
"Small businesses across B.C. are looking for certainty and leadership that will support their ability to grow, invest, and create jobs. We are eager to work with all parties to ensure that the needs of small businesses are prioritized in the weeks and months ahead."
Others were taken aback.
"Things are going to get interesting," said Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) CEO Laura Jones.
"It is so hard to predict how things will work out. We will work with everyone to really make sure that the importance of a strong economy is understood."
