B.C. Liberals seek renewal but face divisions on the road to choosing a new leader

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.

'No buzz' but controversy over memberships

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.

The B.C. Liberals said more than 17,000 members had voted as of 4 p.m. Friday with members able to cast ballots until 5 p.m. Saturday.

The party also said it is confident in the steps that were taken to determine voter eligibility 

 "We await the judge's decision tomorrow," the party said Friday. 

A numbers game on convention night

Members will vote through a preferential ballot, ranking candidates in order of preference.

During the last B.C. Liberal leadership convention in 2018, Andrew Wilkinson became leader after coming in third on the first ballot.

Former Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts was in the lead until later rounds of balloting, when Wilkinson gained enough support to win after other candidates dropped off in the final round.

Political watchers say former Liberal cabinet minister Kevin Falcon is the one to watch for the lead on the first ballot.

"I would suggest that if he doesn't win on the first ballot or he's not very close to winning on the first ballot, say he's under 40 per cent, then I think it really opens up and we can really see a surprise here," Telford said.

Telford says it will be difficult for other candidates to catch up to Falcon in later rounds if he captures a large chunk of the vote at the start.

Telford adds that some members may see Falcon as "yesterday's man" with political baggage from past Liberal governments, which could make him an easy target for the NDP. 

In the days leading up to convention night on Saturday, Kelowna-Mission MLA Renee Merrifield suggested on social media that her supporters vote for her first, and then Skeena MLA Ellis Ross and Vancouver-Langara MLA Michael Lee.

Meanwhile, former B.C. Chamber of Commerce president Val Litwin has suggested in a tweet that he will leave the party if Falcon is elected as leader.

Reconnecting with people on grassroots level

Former Surrey city councillor and B.C. Liberal member Barinder Rasode says the party needs to tackle issues affecting everyday life — such as housing affordability, diversity and health care — to win back support.

"Leadership that not only gives hope but actual plans on how to have emergency plans in place and how we are going to deal with the climate and the issue of diversity around not only women and people of colour but socio-economic diversity and I think 'forward' is the key word in this campaign," she said.

She says the party needs to reconnect with people on a grassroots level, which is where NDP leader John Horgan has resonated with British Columbians as seen in the last election.