CUPE BC President Paul Faoro issued the following statement today:

“On behalf of our provincial executive board and the more than 100,000 CUPE members across B.C., congratulations to Premier John Horgan and the entire BC NDP team of candidates, staff and volunteers for winning an historic majority government on Saturday.

While there are many mail-in ballots yet to be counted, and some local results may change, the bottom line is that the BC NDP government has been re-elected with a majority—the first time in B.C. history that an NDP premier has won an increased number of seats in an election.

To me, this victory speaks to the personal connection that John Horgan has made with voters. There’s a reason he’s consistently been regarded as one of the most popular politicians across the country. But it also speaks to the incredible, diverse team of candidates he recruited, as well as an election platform that actually addressed the issues that a majority of British Columbians care about.

CUPE BC will be there for the long haul with this government. Of course we’ll speak out if they make mistakes or move in the wrong direction, but our goal is to work with Premier Horgan to continue making the progressive changes our communities need.

For the past 3 and-a-half years, in a minority government situation, the BC NDP made incredible progress in repairing the damage caused by 16 years of BC Liberal government attacks on working people. I’m looking forward to seeing the new government continue to build on that work as we continue the move towards being a more caring, resilient, sustainable and equitable place to live and work.

Finally, I want to thank in particular those CUPE members who ran as candidates in this election. Lisa Beare (Local 4078) and Rachna Singh (National staff) were both re-elected, while Dan Coulter (Local 3787) made an amazing breakthrough and was elected in Chilliwack. Our thanks also to Sylvia Lindgren (Local 523) in Shuswap, Bryn Smith (Local 728) in Surrey-White Rock, and Cory Longley (Local 2043) in Peace River South. They all ran great campaigns and I thank them for their commitment and dedication to making our communities stronger.”