Race has become part of the BC Conservative leadership race

“My wife and kids are Indigenous. That doesn’t mean I don’t need and want to, and understand, that we have to repeal and protect private property rights,” Milobar said. “I shouldn’t have to dox my own wife and kids.”

“There is no room for that in the Conservative Party,” said fellow candidate Iain Black. “Conservatives believe that we are all equal, and that you do not make decisions or form arguments based on ethnicity.”

Political scientist Hamish Telford with the University of the Fraser Valley says this kind of conflict is common in closely contested leadership races.

“When you get down to the wire, and everyone is scrambling for votes, things often become very divisive and personal, and the wounds can last,” Telford said. He noted that rifts from contests like the Chrétien-Martin rivalry took decades to heal.

Telford says there is no clear frontrunner in this race and expects it will take several rounds of voting before a winner is chosen. He says the order of candidates on later ballots could be crucial.

All of this is happening as candidates continue to visit B.C.’s northern ridings. This is a key strategy because the race rewards candidates who gain support across different regions, not just in the more populated Lower Mainland.

Both Black and Milobar have reached out directly to northern voters. Black has promised to cut personal income tax by 20 percent and shorten permitting times in the forestry sector from years to months. Milobar, who lives in Kamloops, says his experience in a city with both resource and professional service industries helps him better understand what the north needs.

“I haven’t heard one person during the tours up north ask for a SkyTrain,” he said. “What they want are things that are unique to their towns and areas.”

Party members have until midnight on May 20 to verify their membership. The new leader will be announced at a convention on May 30.

by Dave Branco

Race has become part of the BC Conservative leadership race

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