Pipeline future cloudy after B.C. election results

The uncertain results of the British Columbia election show, once again, that politics and elections matter, as do diplomacy and deal making.

It’s a sort-of win for Alberta ppemier Rachel Notley, who was facing a lose-lose.

Voters in the province further west produced a mixed bag at the polls on Tuesday.

Pending several recounts, it appears the B.C. Liberals will form a minority government by the slimmest of margins — the initial seat count is Liberals 43, New Democrats 41 and the Green Party three.

Notley released a diplomatic statement early on Wednesday, congratulating all involved and mentioning shared priorities and working together. Other Alberta party leaders have been quick to issue premier-esque statements on a variety of matters since 2015, but reserved their B.C. post-election comments until later in the day Wednesday, buying time to decipher the situation.

Of urgent interest to the people, economy and government of Alberta is the fate of Kinder Morgan Transmountain pipeline expansion.

It would send an extra 590,000 barrels of oil to export ports each day, create badly needed construction jobs, and provide some boost for the oilsands producers who’ve been hit in a struggling sector.

The line was approved by the federal government after a process described as give-and-take between Notley and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Pipelines, though a federally regulated sector, can be made much more difficult to build when local governments disagree.

In British Columbia, the New Democrats have promised to fight the line — creating another hurdle for Notley, the most successful, most powerful politician in Canada’s NDP family.

Had the B.C. New Democrats won outright, they would have certainly tried to dash Alberta NDP’s aspirations to boost economic fortunes before their election in two years.

Had the Liberals won the election outright, Alberta opposition leaders would have restated their belief that the NDP is out of step with real world economics and the majority of voters nationwide.

(Remember, of course, that aside from their party’s name, the B.C. Liberals equate to conservative parties in other provinces.)

The second option would have been easier for Notley to stickhandle, but now neither option is particularly great.

Notley tried her darnedest to stay removed from the election, even banning those in her provincial wing from lending ground support to their B.C. counterparts.

Waking up on Wednesday, she has not only a pipeline friendly party in charge, but a crystal clear example of how nuisanced politics can be in this country. However, there’s also a very murky path forward. Let’s remember that victories for a political party are not necessarily victories of government or the people or economy of a province.

A new pipeline is a wide economic victory in Alberta, and all parties will be happy to frame the credit going to them.

Notable, though, is that a clear majority of British Columbians voted for parties that vowed to halt new pipelines.

The furthest left, staunchly environmental Green Party holds the balance of power in what could be a very strange coalition with the Liberals.

Notley’s line all along is that diplomacy and negotiation get things done. We’ll see that tact again.

It’s hard to think Albertans griping about left-coast B.C. politics would have changed this week’s results.

Nor will it in another election that could be called to break a possible logjam in the Victoria Legislature.

Alberta’s right-of-centre parties have become exceedingly impatient in the opposition benches and more than a bit overbearing, telling other governments how to govern and how other provinces should be helping this province’s interests. The voters of B.C. didn’t buy it. The question is, then, how will Notley steer this deal?