Carole James to remain B.C. NDP leader

Carole James thanked supporters at NDP headquarters in Victoria on Election Night, May 12, 2009. James pledged to co-operate with the Liberal majority to protect families in British Columbia.

B.C. NDP Leader Carole James says she won't quit despite her second election loss to the Liberals, but she said she'll be making some changes in the way her MLAs and her party gets its message out.

"My work is not done," she said simply when asked if she would continue on as leader. "It sounds trite, but it's true."

In her first series of interviews Wednesday with reporters since the election last week, James said the low voter turnout -- 52 per cent -- is an indication British Columbians weren't inspired by any political party.

And she said she and her MLAs must do a better job of telling people what the NDP's vision for the future of the province is -- a vision she said that tended to get lost in the negative muck of the campaign.

"I really believe people are looking for a different kind of direction for this province, they're looking for a balanced approach, they're looking for the pragmatic kind of leadership," she said.

"We didn't do a good job of getting that message out, we didn't do a good job of presenting that in the campaign. Our positive message got lost and I think that has to change."

The NDP won 36 seats to the Liberals' 49. Recounts are underway in two ridings, one Liberal and one NDP.

The election results mean the legislature will look almost exactly the same as it did before the campaign.

Only three ridings switched hands and the popular vote percentage -- 46 for the Liberals and 42 for the NDP -- was almost identical to the 2005 election. In 2005, the Liberals got 46 per cent and the NDP 41 per cent.

The only reason the results look much different at all is because there were six new ridings. The Liberals won all but one of them.

James said she and her party will spend the summer talking amongst themselves, but also talking to voters in general to find out what excites them and what turns them off.

"There's no question that things have to be looked at and in a different kind of way, we'll be doing that," she said.

James said the election was a tough one, but she blamed outside groups campaigning for both sides for some of the negativity.

For example, one union local mounted an Internet ad with the slogan Gordon Campbell Eats Your Children.

A business group suggested in full-page newspaper ads that the NDP would hike the price of a case of beer.

James also said her MLAs will do a better job of putting forward positive alternatives to government legislation and they won't simply attack every government initiative.

"If there is something that's come forward that's going to be positive for British Columbians, we will make sure that that's supported," she said.

"You'll also see us putting forward ideas not just at election time, but in fact over the next four years to show people that we do have a vision for this province."

James voiced no regret for her party's opposition to B.C.'s carbon tax. The stance put the NDP at odds with some traditional supporters in the environment movement and potentially cost the party votes.

James said she still thinks the tax is unfair and ineffective. But she said the voters have spoken.

It's now the NDP Opposition's job to put forward environmental alternatives such as ensuring there's proper funding for public transit and how to help industry struggling with the carbon tax through a recession, she said.