For someone who bills himself as a champion of British Columbia, and especially of its business sector, Premier Gordon Campbell didn’t do his province’s economy any favours when he abruptly announced his retirement last month.

The manner in which Campbell unilaterally engineered his exit as B.C.’s 34th premier has left nothing but uncertainty for business and his own Liberal party.

Simply put, he’s taking his own sweet time about leaving.

Certainly, the three-term premier was more or less forced to quit, thanks primarily to his incredible plunge in personal popularity after his government’s introduction of the harmonized sales tax to unsuspecting British Columbians.

He also made it clear during his Nov. 3 retirement announcement that there was not going to be any interim leader. In fact, not only would he hold onto the reins of power until a new leader is chosen on Feb. 26, but he also said that his aggressive agenda for next spring’s legislative session — which includes a significant income tax cut, major changes to B.C.’s education system, an overhaul of several ministries and significant reforms in the resources sector — will move forward as well.

This means the 2011 provincial budget, scheduled for release on Feb. 15, will be strictly a Gordon Campbell-designed document.

Not only that, Campbell surprised everyone with the announcement of a 15% personal income tax cut just days before his resignation. The tax cut was seen as a last-ditch effort to hold power. It also killed the autumn 2011 budget consultation process, in which the public was supposed to suggest ways to spend a three-year uncommitted fund surplus of roughly $2 billion.

Campbell’s sudden tax cut announcement swallowed up roughly $1.8 billion of that money. But, just as suddenly, a few weeks later, Campbell’s cabinet rescinded the tax cut, saying it may make things difficult for a new leader.

Obviously, despite the tax cut flip-flop, anyone wishing to succeed Campbell is going to be stuck with most of Campbell’s agenda for quite some time. There’ll be little near-term opportunity for the new leader to make his or her own mark.

Considering that B.C.’s economy remains in a fragile recovery state, with the latest economic forecast calling for a slowing in growth to 2.4% in 2011 from this year’s Olympics-aided 3.1% performance, the current political uncertainty is hardly helpful.

Remember, historically, the political left is never far from power in B.C. and, given the smell around the Liberals, the NDP may be poised to form the next government. So, until the current political uncertainly settles, B.C. investors may adopt a temporary “wait and see” strategy.

On the B.C. Liberal leadership front, several would-be candidates have already turned away, including front-runner Dianne Watts, the highly popular mayor of Surrey. If the leadership field weakens further, then the political uncertainty will only increase. Or, as B.C. cabinet minister David Penner quipped when asked about his leadership ambitions: “Yes, I’ll be running — in the other direction.” IE