B.C. Greens say they won’t renew governing accord with NDP, ending formal partnership next month

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s Green Party says it will not renew its governing agreement with the BC NDP when it expires next month, bringing the parties’ formal cooperation arrangement to an end and setting up a new phase of legislature-by-legislature bargaining at the Capitol.

In a statement released Feb. 9, Green Leader Emily Lowan said the party is walking away from the Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord (CARGA) because key commitments have “stalled or [been] sidelined,” pointing to items the Greens say were central to the deal—community-based primary care, transit expansion, and democratic reform measures such as continued work toward proportional representation.

The accord was struck after the 2024 provincial election, when the NDP and Greens negotiated a framework to provide greater stability and collaborate on a defined set of shared priorities. The agreement-in-principle was announced in December 2024, with Premier David Eby framing it as a way for “two distinct parties” to work together on areas like health care, housing, livable communities and the economy. The final terms were later signed in March 2025, with the Greens pledging support on confidence matters in exchange for progress on Green priorities such as community health centres, transit improvements, and ending spousal clawbacks on disability assistance.

The move also revives memories of the parties’ earlier power-sharing era. In 2017, the Greens entered a confidence-and-supply deal that helped the NDP form government—an arrangement that lasted until Premier John Horgan called a snap election in 2020.

What happens next depends on the seat math and the government’s willingness to negotiate vote-by-vote. The Greens argue the NDP can continue governing without them, while warning that any decision to call an election rests with the premier.