The contrast between winning and losing was never clearer than on Friday.
There was the New Democratic Party (the losers). Still coming to terms with the upcoming departure of leader Adrian Dix, they were given another chance to obsess over the election loss, with the 91原创 Sun鈥檚 leaked account of former campaign manager Brian Topp鈥檚 long, dismal explanation of how they blew the election. For party members, it鈥檚 about as exciting as next week鈥檚 weather forecast (clouds and rain).
And there was Premier Christy Clark (the winner), centre stage at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention. She urged hundreds of municipal leaders onward and upward, talked about seizing the chance of a lifetime and promised a new bridge to boot.
Her explanation of the vote was a lot more succinct than Topp鈥檚.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no magic to winning an election ... We talked about something that matters.鈥�
She told delegates she knew the economy and jobs would matter, so she stuck to the plan and concentrated on that.
The difference was even clearer when Clark was asked later about the state of the NDP.
It was clear she couldn鈥檛 care less.
鈥淚鈥檝e put politics behind me,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he NDP will have a year or so of politics ahead of them, but my obligation is to get out there and govern.鈥�
She took pains to note she made the same point at the carefully publicized meeting earlier with two labour leaders, both of them obvious NDP supporters. 鈥淭he time for politics is behind us. It鈥檚 time to get on with it. I鈥檝e got way too much to do in growing this economy.鈥�
The main message from her speech seemed to be a repeated call for unity as a prerequisite for 鈥済etting on with it.鈥� That鈥檚 a pretty rare condition in B.C. politics.
Clark won the election with a jobs-first message that leaned heavily on the liquefied natural gas project. But she won it with just a four-point edge in the popular vote, and there are any number of people who dismiss LNG.
The more people who get skeptical or drift away from the B.C. Liberal vision, the harder it gets to execute.
So the UBCM convention is the prime place to rally support for LNG, and for her first full term in general.
鈥淲hen we work together, we all know the sky is the limit,鈥� she told delegates. If inspirational speeches about pulling together don鈥檛 do the trick, she sweetened the pot a bit, with a direct appeal to municipal interests.
She announced a fund that will appeal to local leaders closest to the action. Towns on the north coast will have a modest $150,000 fund from which to study the impacts that huge industrial growth will have on local infrastructure.
Clark also came up with an LNG Buy B.C. Program that is supposed to connect the multinational corporations investing in LNG with B.C. suppliers.
鈥淲e are going to ensure that as many benefits as possible flow from the resource to the owners of that resource ... the people in every corner of this province.鈥�
Many view the LNG concept as a far-off vision, but Clark stressed that some of it is happening here and now.
鈥淚鈥檝e got news for the pessimists,鈥� Clark said, listing the current situation. One company has invested $800 million on an LNG plant site, with 500 people working on it.
About $7 billion has already been spent on securing rights and opportunities, she said. Seven projects have applied for export licences, three of them approved. Port Edward, a village just south of Prince Rupert, has sold municipal land for development for the first time in 12 years.
She won the election by running on hope inspired by economic growth. It鈥檚 clear she鈥檚 going to ride that theme as far as it takes her.
New Democrats will soon start to try generating some enthusiasm for a rebuilding project and another leadership race. But it was clear Friday that winning is a lot more energizing than losing.
