Liberal leader Justin Trudeau arrives with local candidate Pamela Goldsmith Jones prior to making an announcement in West Vancouver, B.C., on Sept. 10.JONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press
B.C. Premier Christy Clark has consistently played down her federal Liberal roots – it makes her party's Conservative-leaning members squeamish. The Premier needs to keep the peace within her party because the coalition that is the B.C. Liberals is critical to her re-election plans. With the federal Liberals formally assuming power this week, however, the province can expect the often-frosty relationship between Ottawa and Victoria to warm.
For the first time in a decade, the other half of the B.C. Liberal coalition – the federal Liberal contingent – can enjoy a little sunshine. The Premier's experience working for the Chrétien Liberals in Ottawa in the 1990s is a reminder of her dues paid. More recently, her communications chief, Ben Chin, worked on prime-minister-designate Justin Trudeau's party leadership bid before he came to work for Ms. Clark. Senior envoys from Ms. Clark's government have met with Mr. Trudeau's top advisers to suss out the terms of the new relationship.
British Columbia does not come with a long shopping list, but here are five things to watch for after Mr. Trudeau and his new cabinet are sworn in on Wednesday.
Marine spill response
The Conservative government decision to shut down the Kitsilano Coast Guard base in Vancouver in 2013 led to one of the most serious of the few public spats the feds had with the Clark government in Victoria
The spat was especially heated in the days after the MV Marathassa dumped 2,700 litres of Bunker C fuel oil into English Bay last April. The Conservative government insisted the cleanup was first-rate, but the province was unhappy with the slow response to a minor spill in benign marine conditions. The federal Liberals say they will reopen the base and restore funding to the Coast Guard communications budget, but British Columbia wants more than that. Ms. Clark's government is currently putting together a list of the specific gaps they want filled to meet their demands for a "world class" spill-response regime.
Health care
Four years ago, the provinces got a nasty surprise when Ottawa unveiled a new health-care funding formula that would tie the growth rate of transfers to economic growth. Here again, B.C. offered rare criticism of the Harper government. Although Ms. Clark accepted that she could not budge the federal Conservatives on the new formula, she argued – without success – that the needs of the province's aging population deserves some special consideration. Mr. Trudeau has pledged to meet with provincial leaders to renegotiate the multibillion-dollar Canada Health Transfer. The hitch is that the federal Liberals have not earmarked any substantial cash. This is Ms. Clark's opportunity to promote more targeted spending.
Public transit
The federal Liberals are planning to boost infrastructure spending and that is potentially good news for Metro Vancouver, where the summer's failed plebiscite on transit funding has left the region without a clear way forward to meet the region's $7.5-billion expansion plan. Ottawa and B.C. each promised one-third funding, but Ms. Clark complicated matters when she insisted that the Metro Vancouver mayors win explicit public approval to raise taxes for their share of the money. If the new federal government is looking for some spade-ready, green transit projects to throw some money at, B.C. and Vancouver have a plan for them.
Oil and gas
In the summer of 2012, Ms. Clark announced her "five conditions" for the proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline, triggering a battle with both Alberta and the federal Conservatives. Unsurprisingly, Ottawa showed little excitement for Ms. Clark's plans to launch a made-in-B.C. industry around liquefied natural gas. That tit-for-tat friction is no longer an issue – the Trudeau Liberals are planning to withdraw federal approval of the Northern Gateway project. The B.C. Premier can hope for a little more enthusiasm in Ottawa now for her LNG dream.
Climate action
There was no starker policy contrast between Victoria and the Harper government than on the climate file. British Columbia has enjoyed international acclaim for its carbon tax and ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, while the federal government racked up mock "Fossil" awards for its laggard global climate efforts. Mr. Trudeau is heading for the next United Nations conference on climate change at the end of this month hoping to craft a national consensus on climate change that might repair Canada's reputation. Ms. Clark could play a role in shaping that new national strategy.
Justine Hunter