FILE PHOTO - NDP Leader John Horgan at press event March 27, 2017 near Domtar Mill, Kamloops.
(BRENDAN KERGIN / iNFOnews.ca)
July 01, 2017 - 6:00 AM
VICTORIA - British Columbia premier-designate John Horgan has spoken with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and is planning meetings this summer in Ottawa and Washington, D.C.
Horgan, who will head a minority NDP government, says the meeting with the prime minister will happen before the recall of the legislature, expected shortly after Labour Day.
Horgan says he and Trudeau had a phone conversation today and discussed B.C.'s opioid overdose crisis and the softwood lumber trade dispute with the United States.
He says he'll head from that meeting down to Washington, where he plans to advocate for the province in the softwood dispute.
He says he and Trudeau stuck to their common interests and the contentious topic of the federally approved Kinder Morgan pipeline project was avoided in their first conversation.
Trudeau and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, who is also a New Democrat, issued statements congratulating Horgan, whose New Democrats and three Green party members toppled B.C.'s Liberal government in a non-confidence vote on Thursday.
Horgan promised during last month's election campaign to use every tool available to stop the expansion of the Alberta-to-B.C. pipeline, which had been approved by Christy Clark's government.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2017