2021 British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election

A British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election is planned to be held in 2021 to elect a new party leader following the resignation of Andrew Wilkinson after the 2020 British Columbia general election. On November 23, 2020, Shirley Bond was elected by party caucus members to serve as interim leader.[1] In a press conference held the following day, she said that the party would take some time to consider the election loss before launching its leadership contest.[2][3]

2021 British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election

Date	TBD
Resigning leader	Andrew Wilkinson

The candidate elected in the 2021 contest will replace Bond as party leader.[3] Bond has said the contest will occur "not too late" in 2021, saying a period of introspection about the party's performance in the 2020 election and future direction are needed before a new leader is chosen.[4][5] Bond will not be running in the leadership herself and said she will not be supporting any candidate.[4][6]

The election is to be overseen by a seven-person organizing committee to be co-chaired by former Liberal cabinet minister Colin Hansen and Victoria lawyer Roxanne Helme.[6] Other committee members include former member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Jackie Tegart and former Prince George councillor Cameron Stolz.[7][8]

Prospective candidates

• Gavin Dew, business person, BC Liberal candidate in the 2016 by-election in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant[9][10]
• Kevin Falcon, former MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale (2001–2013), former deputy premier of British Columbia, runner-up in 2011 BC Liberal leadership election[9][11]
• Aaron Gunn, conservative political commentator, senior contributor for BC and Canada Proud[12]
• Jas Johal, former MLA for Richmond-Queensborough, former Global BC journalist[9][13]
• Mike de Jong, MLA for Abbotsford West, 5th-place contestant in the 2018 leadership election, former minister of Finance[13]
• Michael Lee, MLA for Vancouver-Langara, 3rd-place contestant in the 2018 leadership election[9][13]
• Renee Merrifield, MLA for Kelowna-Mission[9][14]
• James Moore, former MP for Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam (2000–2015), former federal minister of Heritage[13]
• Ellis Ross, MLA for Skeena, former chief councillor of the Haisla Nation, recipient of the Order of British Columbia[9][13]
• Tom Shypitka, MLA for Kootenay East, critic for Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation[15]
• Dianne Watts, runner-up in the 2018 leadership election, former MP for South Surrey—White Rock (2015–2017), former mayor (2005–2015) and councillor (1996–2005) of Surrey[13]

Declined

• Shirley Bond, interim party leader[4][6]
• Todd Stone, MLA for Kamloops-South Thompson, 4th-place contestant in the 2018 leadership election, former minister of Transportation and Infrastructure[14][16]
• Tamara Taggart, former CTV Vancouver news anchor, 2019 Liberal Party of Canada candidate for Vancouver Kingsway[13][17]

References

1. "Veteran MLA Shirley Bond chosen interim leader of the B.C. Liberal Party". CBC News. November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
2. Fletcher, Tom (November 24, 2020). "B.C. Liberal leadership contest will wait for election post-mortem". Peace Arch News. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
3. Zussman, Richard (November 24, 2020). "BC Liberal caucus chooses Shirley Bond as interim leader". Global News. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
4. Fletcher, Tom (December 23, 2020). "How does the 'British Columbia Party' sound for 2021?". Saanich News. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
5. "2021 a time to ask hard questions about what went wrong, BC Liberals' interim leader says". CTV News. December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
6. Meissner, Dirk (January 21, 2021). "Plans underway for race to replace outgoing B.C. Liberal leader". CBC News. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
7. Fedigan, Jess (January 21, 2021). "Prince George business owner selected for BC Liberal Leadership Election Organizing Committee". Delta Optimist. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
8. Yanor, Fran (January 28, 2021). "Bond navigating party's 'existential crisis' on cusp of Liberal leadership race". Prince George Citizen. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
9. Zussman, Richard (January 21, 2021). "Andrew Wilkinson still has not resigned as leader of the BC Liberals". Global News. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
10. Dew, Gavin (December 24, 2020). "BC Liberals need 21st century leadership to rebuild". Business in Vancouver. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
11. Palmer, Vaughn (January 20, 2021). "With Stone out of the running for B.C. Liberals, speculation turns to Kevin Falcon". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
12. Zussman, Richard [@richardzussman] (January 25, 2021). "A website has been launched to support Aaron Gunn running for BC Liberal leadership" (Tweet). Retrieved January 25, 2021 – via Twitter.
13. Zussman, Richard (October 27, 2020). "The BC Liberals are looking for a new leader. Here are some possibilities". Global News. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
14. Zussman, Richard (January 14, 2021). "Former minister Todd Stone says he won't seek BC Liberal leadership". Global News. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
15. Tibballs, Scott (October 26, 2020). "Wilkinson would have been a great Premier: Shypitka". Cranbrook Townsman. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
16. Stone, Todd (November 12, 2020). "Opinion: Todd Stone's open letter to BC Liberals after "dreadful" election result". Daily Hive. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
17. Amir, Mo (December 22, 2020). "Tamara Taggart blasts BC Liberals amid leadership speculation". Vancouver Is Awesome. Retrieved December 29, 2020.