B.C. Liberals seek renewal but face divisions on the road to choosing a new leader
CBC
The B.C. Liberal Party is electing their new leader on Saturday with more than 40,000 members voting from Feb. 3 to 5, but the race has yet to attract widespread excitement despite seven candidates campaigning over the last several months.
The race has been focused on charting a new path for the party since Andrew Wilkinson announced his resignation in October 2020, two days after the party had its worst provincial election outcome in decades — winning 28 seats in the B.C. Legislature from the previous 41.
It was their second defeat in a row after 16 years in power under premiers Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark.
But it is unclear if the party will rest its hopes on a fresh face or an experienced insider.
Three elected officials are running for the position: MLA Renee Merrifield from Kelowna-Mission, Skeena MLA Ellis Ross, and Vancouver-Langara MLA Michael Lee.
Gavin Dew, longtime consultant for the B.C. Liberals, is also running, as are former B.C. Chamber of Commerce CEO Val Litwin and Victoria property developer Stan Sipos.
And then there's former cabinet minister Kevin Falcon, who is being touted as the frontrunner by political watchers.
The new B.C. Liberal leader will be inheriting the challenge of winning back urban voters in the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver, where the party lost seats in the last election.
The race has gained little attention partly due to the pandemic and unrelenting emergencies that have plagued the province over the past year, including the wildfires, opioid crisis and flooding.
Hamish Telford, associate professor of political science at the University of the Fraser Valley, says one of the goals of a leadership contest is to generate excitement and interest.
"There has been absolutely no buzz at all about this leadership race. It may be case that the Liberals choose a new leader and nobody notices and that's a real missed opportunity," said Telford.
However, there have been allegations of irregularities with new membership sign-ups within the party.
B.C. Liberal member Vikram Bajwa is taking the party to court on Friday to ask a judge to delay the results of Saturday's vote for 15 days, over concerns about the party's audit of new memberships.
Members will vote through a preferential ballot, ranking candidates in order of preference.
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