By Matt Fetinko

What a BC Liberal rebuild could look like

Oct 28, 2020 | 2:48 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — A significant shift for the BC Liberals looks to be on the horizon following a largely disastrous election for the party. A complete rebuild is being rumoured and that starts with a new leader. Andrew Wilkinson announced he will be stepping down earlier this week.

Perhaps the largest hurdle for whoever takes over will be bridging that gap between rural and urban environments. It is not a new issue but one voters, professionals, and even party members themselves realize needs to be addressed.

“I’m very concerned that we have strong representation in blocks across the province,” explained Shirley Bond, MLA Elect of Prince George-Valemount. “If you think about it, Vancouver Island is a good example of that. If you look at the Interior, the North, and the Lower Mainland and you do want to see a government that is reflective of the entire province as much as possible.”

One thing the BC Liberals have at their disposal is time with another four years until the next election. Time is something nobody had for this year’s snap election and with the ability to reflect, many believe they need to take advantage of that opportunity. That could potentially mean revisiting the idea of the party itself – which is a coalition.

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“If they do choose to rebrand and choose a new name, they’re going to have to be very careful about it, really do their research, and try to choose a name that’s going to reflect the new values and policy positions of the party,” Chris Beach, CNC political science instructor, said. “Remember, this is a coalition party. It’s a free-enterprise, centre-right coalition. And it’s the same coalition that the [BC Social Credit Party] had right up until the late 1990s when the BC Liberals took over.”

Andrew Wilkinson is expected to stay on until a new leader is chosen. There is no timeline for a BC leadership race. Chris Beach speculated two names to make waves in the leadership race: Jas Johal, who lost his seat in Richmond-Queensborough, and Todd Stone, who finished fourth in the 2018 leadership race and was re-elected in Kamloops-South Thompson last weekend.

by Matt Fetinko

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What a BC Liberal rebuild could look like

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