BC Conservative MLAs have rejected every attempt by newly re-elected British Columbia Premier David Eby to court BC Conservative MLAs for the Speaker position.
Eby has had the BC NDP contact several opposition MLAs so he could maintain his slim majority government.
Multiple BC Conservatives have declared that they will not accept the role of speaker of the legislature, which would allow the BC NDP government to retain its majority.
Following the BC Election, The NDP secured a slim majority and now holds 47 legislative seats, just making the 47-seat threshold for a majority government. The BC Conservatives currently hold 44 seats.
The problem for Eby is that the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia needs to elect a Speaker, and if it comes from his party, he would lose majority status. The Speaker does not vote except in a tie-breaking scenario.
Elected members of the legislature need to put their own names forward to apply for the role, making the recently re-elected Eby government’s search for a new Speaker all the more difficult.
The BC Green Party secured two seats. If it offered one of its candidates, the Greens would lose official party status in the legislature.
When asked about any potential deals the Greens would make with the BC NDP, a spokesperson for the party, JoJo Beattie, confirmed with True North that conversations were “ongoing” and had nothing else to add.
During a press conference following the results, Eby said he would work with any opposition members who share his values, particularly by electing a Speaker from one of those parties.
“I know we’ve got some great candidates (for Speaker) on our bench,” Eby said. “I’m sure the Greens would be able to put forward a good Speaker, maybe the Conservatives. We’re not ruling anything out.”
After conceding the election to Eby, Rustad told reporters that he was aware of Eby “calling around” his newly elected MLAs, asking for them to take on the role of Speaker. However, Rustad said he was not considering supporting it “at this stage.”
“If David Eby wanted to call me and say that he wants to move forward with significant parts of our agenda, maybe there’s something that we could be talking about,” Rustad said. “But at this stage, I would not be looking at offering one of our members to be speaker, to support the agenda that he ran on.”
Rustad’s candidate for Richmond-Bridgeport, Teresa Wat, who won a seat for the BC Conservatives, publicly declined the role on X Wednesday.
“I’m humbled by the thought of being considered for Speaker of the House, but I want to be clear my commitment is to my constituents and colleagues in the Conservative Party of British Columbia,” she said. “I will not be putting my name forward for the role.”
Wat is one of several victorious BC Conservative candidates who have rejected Eby’ pleas that they put their name forward for the role.
Ian Paton, the BC Conservative MLA for Delta South, was among the first to announce that he had been approached and was declining to seek the position.
“I am truly honoured to have my name mentioned in discussions regarding the role of the Speaker. However, I want to clarify that I am not interested in pursuing this position,” Paton said on X. “I am truly honoured to have my name mentioned in discussions regarding the role of the Speaker. However, I want to clarify that I am not interested in pursuing this position.”
Members of opposition parties have held the role before. Following the 2017 election, when the NDP formed a minority government with support from the Greens, Abbotsford South Liberal MLA Darryl Plecas was elected speaker.
The role does come with some additional financial perks. Speakers of the House are entitled to $59,766.37 in addition to the $119,532.72 in annual basic compensation each MLA receives.
According to the CHEK News’ Rob Shaw, BC Conservative MLAs Peter Milobar, Trevor Halford, and Elenore Sturko declined the role after being approached.
Eby hasn’t set a timeline for the legislature’s return, saying he will wait for Elections BC to complete judicial recounts of two close ridings before making the decision.