BC Liberals could do with move toward the centre, says expert

Voting is underway for the BC Liberals as members look to elect a new leader, but what exactly does the party need to get back into power?

Questions remain as to whether we’ll even get results from this vote over the weekend, but as it stands, voting is set to end on Saturday at 5 p.m.

The Liberals have been without a permanent leader since Andrew Wilkinson stepped down in 2020 after a disappointing provincial election run. MLA Shirly Bond has been serving in the interim.

Premier John Horgan led the NDP to power by taming the more left-leaning side of his party, and the BC Liberals could also benefit from shifting to the centre, in the view of UBC political scientist Gerald Baier.

But he acknowledges that coalition between voters who are generally federal Liberals and Conservatives can be difficult to manage.

“Those two parties don’t always get along at the best of times, so when they’re in a coalition within the province, that can always be challenging. So it’s a hard question as to where exactly they go,” he explained. “It’s always been a tricky kind of coalition.”

However, Baier notes it can be done — it just may take some effort.

“You know Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark both found a way to manage that. Gordon Campbell did it with things like the carbon tax and others which were certainly not right-wing kind of policies, but he was able to still hang onto or appeal to people who are maybe a bit more to the right,” Baier told CityNews.

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“Christy Clark, likewise. She was known nationally as maybe being a bit more conservative than she came off within the province, but the focus on economic prudence and all those kind of things have been trademarks of the Liberals in the past and it’s been one of the ways that they’ve managed to have some social conservatism but still appeal somewhere in the centre.”

Baier believes moving more to the centre is the way to go, to capitalize on Liberal support and also convince undecided voters.

Voting is taking place online and by phone. Each Liberal member can cast one vote in the preferential ballot system.

However, the vote comes amid concerns from some about false memberships. A petition filed in BC Supreme Court by party member Vikram Bajwa is calling for a review after it’s claimed 20,000 people suddenly signed up during the leadership process. The court’s decision could delay sharing the results of the vote by 15 days.

Baier admits the Liberals are in need of some renewal.

“The formula that they’ve relied on in the past that had them in government for 16 years has broken down. The ability to appeal to some of the seat-heavy parts of Metro Vancouver seems to have waned and they can’t rely entirely on the Interior, where they’ve always been historically strong,” he said, adding Horgan has found a way to boost his party in parts of the metro region.

“A new leader is part of the solution to renewal — it’s often what people depend upon, and we’ll see what happens if they’re able to chart a course that can find that sort of magic approach or magic appeal that can get them back into power.”

Liberal members are currently voting for one of seven candidates — Gavin Dew, Kevin Falcon, Michael Lee, Val Litwin, Renee Merrifield, Ellis Ross, and Stan Sipos.