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But the lieutenant governor’s decision would be a great deal easier if the NDP and Greens were to form an electoral pact of some kind — either a formal coalition, with Greens included in cabinet, or what is sometimes called a “supply and confidence” agreement, where the Greens would commit to sustaining the NDP in office for some period of time.

Of course, there is also the option of the Liberals and Greens cutting a deal. And this is where things get very interesting. The Greens have made clear what they would demand in exchange for their support: cleaning up B.C.’s “wild west” system of campaign finance, including an end to the corporate and union donations on which both the Liberals and NDP have feasted; and reform of the province’s electoral system, on proportional representation lines.

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Intriguingly, the party leader, Andrew Weaver, has been much less adamant on other issues, including the party’s signature environmental concerns. And wisely so: a concession on this pipeline or that dam is one thing, but a fundamental change in how B.C. elections are conducted holds the promise of transforming the Greens into a major, and permanent, force in B.C. politics, opening the way for many more such policy gains in future. That’s the prize worth playing for.

It isn’t just that the party’s seat count would more accurately reflect its share of the vote: 15, in the latest exercise, rather than the three it actually received. It is that Green supporters would never again have to fear that by voting Green they were “wasting” their vote, throwing it away on a candidate with no hope of winning; neither would they feel obliged to vote “strategically,” that is for a party they liked less, in order to prevent a party they detested from slipping in. The likelihood, in short, is that the Greens would take a greater share of the vote, as well as the seats.