BC Greens won't renew accord with NDP, citing 'stalled or undelivered' commitments

BC Greens break with NDP

Photo: The Canadian Press

Emily Lowan delivers a speech after being voted in as the new B.C. Green Party leader following contest results during an announcement at the Parkside Hotel in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

The BC Green Party has announced it will not be renewing an accord with the governing NDP when it expires next month, potentially undermining the stability of the provincial government with its one-seat majority.

Green Leader Emily Lowan said there were "stalled or undelivered" commitments from the New Democrats and about two-thirds of the goals of the agreement were not accomplished.

The deal known as the Co-operation and Responsible Government Accord was intended to stabilize the government while both parties worked on shared goals, but Lowan said any decision to call an election rested solely with Premier David Eby and his government.

“The BC NDP has a majority. They can govern, pass budgets, and call an election whenever they choose. If the premier decides to trigger an election, that is his decision — not ours," her statement on Monday said.

The NDP has 47 members in the 93-seat legislature, while the Greens have two. The Opposition B.C. Conservatives have 39 seats, having lost five members from their caucus who are now sitting as Independents.

B.C. deputy premier Niki Sharma said in a statement that the two parties were unable to find common ground and that the Greens won't rule out voting with the B.C. Conservatives on confidence measures to trigger an election.

"British Columbians don’t want an election, they want us to take action on the things that matter to them," her statement said.

Sharma said the government would be working with the Greens on a vote-by-vote basis, as it does with other MLAs.

Lowan said the New Democrat government had not met its commitments in the deal on issues such as expanded community health care, electoral reform and bringing more transit to Vancouver Island and the Sea-to-Sky region.

She said it had become clear that the government was ceding its "values to corporate interests," as wealth inequality rises and B.C.'s working families are treading water in the cost-of-living crisis.

Lowan said the agreement had produced some results, including ending spousal claw backs for disability assistance, however "the government has shown a troubling pattern of commissioning reviews and then letting them gather dust, rather than translating evidence into action for working people."

She also criticized Eby's plans to rework the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act which was intended to embody the United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

“Reconciliation is not a political convenience,” Lowan said in her statement.

“A government that is willing to weaken Indigenous rights for political expediency cannot expect our support."