The B.C. Liberals won re-election Tuesday night largely on the strength of their economic plans, which the proponent of the Northern Gateway project believes could bode well for the pipeline.
"I've been along the right-of-way for a couple of years now, talking to my fellow British Columbians," Enbridge vice-president for western access Janet Holder said Wednesday. "And very clearly they do want a strong economy and I think that's the message they gave to British Columbia [Tuesday] night and we can be part of that and we've always believed we can be part of that."
Enbridge is hoping to build the Northern Gateway pipeline to connect Alberta's oilsands with Kitimat so that diluted bitumen can be shipped to Asian markets. The $6.5 billion project has been controversial and is currently undergoing an environmental review assessment.
On the surface, the Liberal win bodes well for the pipeline as the opposition NDP had spoken out forcefully against the plan. However from Northern Gateway's perspective, Holder said her company would have been willing to work with any party that formed government.
"In our minds it doesn't change our strategy, we were willing to work with whichever government was elected," she said. "Now that the election is over with, we can move forward on our strategy with this government."
Oil pipeline opponents like Ben West of ForestEthics Advocacy, saw the Liberal win as a loss for their cause, but vowed to keep up the pressure on all levels of government.
"Big Oil won a battle today but they haven't won the war," West wrote in a blog post. "The 2015 federal election is right around the corner, and our fight against Enbridge and Kinder Morgan in B.C. is still far from over."
The B.C. Liberals have placed five environmental, social and economic conditions on all oil pipelines and Holder said their re-election means her company can focus on trying to fulfill those requirements.
"I think with regards to the five conditions, it does give that continuity," she said. "As we've said in the past, we're pleased to work with the government on those five conditions, we believe we can meet those five conditions and we are establishing a world-class pipeline and marine safety plans for our project."
Holder said her company will continue to engage with the government as well as other interested parties including First Nations. In the meantime, Northern Gateway and intervener groups are busy preparing their written statements to the National Energy Board's Joint Review Panel in anticipation of next month's final arguments.
