B.C. Conservative Party forms committee to select new leader

The Conservative Party of British Columbia says it has formed a committee tasked with overseeing the selection of its new leader.

In a statement, the party announced the creation of a leadership election organizing committee, which it says will act as an impartial body overseeing the race.

Scott Lamb, chair of the committee, said in a statement that B.C. is "desperately in need of new leadership."

He said the committee was starting its work right away to set out the rules and processes for the leadership contest, to be held as soon as possible.

The leadership contest follows former leader John Rustad's resignation last month one day after he initially refused to quit in the face of a caucus revolt.

At the time, the party issued a statement saying a caucus vote had installed Trevor Halford as interim leader after 20 MLAs said they had lost confidence in Rustad.

Angelo Isidorou, the party’s executive director, said the organizing committee will establish the ground rules for the leadership race.

“Remember this is a new party that never really had a proper leadership race before so a lot of it is silent in the constitution so they're going to come together and create the rules for the race as we move forward,” he said.

The first Conservative Party premier was elected in B.C back in 1903, but Isidorou said the party has remained virtually inactive since the late 1920s.

“It's been a dormant party until we took it over in 2022,” he added.

While the party’s constitution outlines broad principles such as candidate eligibility and voting procedures, Isidorou said key decisions still need to be made, including entry fees, application requirements and the length of the campaign.

He said the party wants a new leader in place as soon as possible in case Premier David Eby calls an early election.

Mario Canseco, president of the polling firm Research Co., said the winner will inherit a divided party.

“Whoever emerges victorious from this exercise is going to have a significant amount of work in front of them, particularly to try to mend those fences,” he said.

No one has formally declared their candidacy. Conservative MLAs Peter Milobar and Harman Bhangu have said they are considering runs. Other names circulating include former federal MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay, former provincial labour minister Iain Black and former grocery executive Darrell Jones.

North Island-Powell River MP Aaron Gunn recently ruled out a bid for the leadership of the provincial party. Kelowna MLA Gavin Dew said he's not seeking the job, citing family reasons.