After reflecting on two election defeats, B.C. Liberals get ready to elect new leader

A new leader will be chosen by British Columbia's Liberals on Saturday after a months-long campaign that often focused on renewal and a new course for a party that has lost successive elections after 16 years in power.

The party is looking for its third leader since 2017 and is replacing Andrew Wilkinson, who stepped down in 2020 when the NDP were re-elected with a majority government.

The campaign has not been typical due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, featuring online debates and virtual events rather than large rallies and gatherings, but it has consistently centred on soul searching and a focus on the party's identity by those running to be its new leader.

Seven candidates, including three members of the Liberal caucus, three relative newcomers and a former cabinet minister taking his second shot at the leadership, are vying to replace Wilkinson. The candidates are legislature members Michael Lee, Ellis Ross and Renee Merrifield; business leaders Gavin Dew, Val Litwin and Stan Sipos; and Kevin Falcon, a former Liberal cabinet minister and leadership candidate in 2011.

An election post-mortem report released by the party last June said the Liberals are perceived by many as lacking diversity and must embark on a rebranding that supports the values and aspirations of voters. It said the province has changed and so must the B.C. Liberals.

The party fell behind and the leadership contest is critical for the Liberals, who were left weakened after the 2020 election and have yet to recover, said Stephen Smart, a press secretary to former premier Christy Clark and a Vancouver-based public relations strategist.

“The party continues to bleed support and perhaps, more alarming, the party continues to bleed relevance for many voters, particularly urban voters,” he said.

The Liberals were reduced to 28 seats in B.C.'s 87-seat legislature, losing 13 seats in the 2020 vote, including several in key Metro Vancouver ridings and suffering defeats in former party strongholds in the Fraser Valley.

Smart said cracks continue to form in the party foundation, which despite its Liberal name, comprises a long-standing coalition of federal Liberal and Conservative supporters. The party is not affiliated with the federal Liberals.