If Andrew Weaver were to describe his political relationship status this year, "it’s complicated" wouldn’t even come close to covering it. The results of B.C.'s incredibly close election forced his Green party to choose between supporting the Liberals, who had collaborated with Weaver before, and the NDP. The latter’s actions during the campaign were a low point in 2017, Weaver says.

“Some of my staff on the campaign team were crying on the bus. And I was saddened when some very personal nasty fake news was put out against me by the NDP. It was so low,” he told CTV News in a year-end interview. 

In the end, Weaver and the Greens chose to prop up the NDP, not through a coalition but an alliance. The two parties agreed to work with each other on several issues, and where there isn’t an explicit agreement, the Greens get input or at least notice of what the government plans to do. Weaver counts banning big money – which was both an NDP and Green promise – as evidence of his party’s success.

What the party of three didn’t get: a decision to stop the controversial Site C megaproject, estimated to cost more than $10 billion. And for that, Weaver is highly critical of Premier John Horgan. “The Site C decision was a low point post-election. It’s so the wrong decision…we believe there was a lack of courage.”

Weaver and his colleagues aren’t shy about taking jabs at the premier, especially when the NDP policy is different from what the Greens think is best. He’s called the decision to remove bridge tolls “reckless,” and the decision to push back ridesharing by a year “disappointing.” He’s also gone further, suggesting recall campaigns may be in order for cabinet ministers who campaigned on stopping Site C.

Both he and Horgan acknowledge every relationship comes with ups and downs. Neither seems particularly worried about an impending breakdown. “I think there’ll be a time when Mr. Horgan won’t want to go for a beer with me and I won’t want to go for a beer with him,” says Weaver. “But I hope there will be times we will both want to go for a beer.”

A roller-coaster is how Weaver describes this year. He's not interested in entertaining what it would take to topple the NDP's minority government, but acknowledges there could be a breaking point. “Obviously if we start to see scandals mounting time after time after time, and we see public policy going in a direction we don’t support, we’ll have to stand up and be heard.” He says the discussion is still premature, but that the government needs to deliver on affordability in order to fulfill its promises – and he questions whether there's money to do that.

Looking forward, he says in 2018 he hopes to secure the seat in the Kelowna West by-election – a fourth seat that would firmly establish his party’s status as disruptor.