A premier staring down global uncertainty and a difficult budget unveils a shiny new jobs plan promising to get B.C.’s abundant natural resources to markets beyond the United States and position the province as Canada’s economic engine.

The slogan? Look west.

The year? Well … that depends … on which premier you think we’re talking about.

“Traditionally, the U.S. has been our biggest partner,” reads one glossy plan.

“But today, it’s our connection to the Asia Pacific that has the most potential to shape our prosperity. While the United States will continue to be our largest trading partner and strongest ally, for new economic and social opportunities, we must look west.”

Look west. A bold vision tabled by… (checks notes)... BC Liberal Premier Christy Clark, circa 2011, in the BC Jobs Plan: Canada Starts Here.

Fourteen years later, on Monday, NDP Premier David Eby released his own version. It was titled Look West: Jobs and Prosperity for a Stronger BC and Canada.

The similarities do not end there.

Clark retooled post-secondary trades training in 2015 for a “Skills for Jobs Blueprint” to refocus post-secondary institutions on areas of economic demand, including natural resource development, mining and LNG for export to Asian........

© BIV