Interim B.C. Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson is moving to repair ruptures in the Opposition that saw 13 legislators quit caucus or be expelled by former leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay, who stepped down on Sunday.
Former leader John Rustad, former interim leader Trevor Halford and MLA Scott McInnis all say they’ve accepted invitations from Doerkson to rejoin the troubled caucus.
Rustad says in a statement that his “time as leader is over” but not his service to the province.
The Nechako Lakes MLA also says “high level” unity talks are underway between the Conservatives and the breakaway CentreBC party, and rated the chance of success at 95 per cent.
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The developments come after the caucus of B.C.’s governing NDP met Sunday night to discuss a potential early election in light of Findlay’s resignation, raising the prospect of voters going to the polls while the Opposition has no fixed candidate to become premier.
An interim leader is prohibited by the Conservative constitution from seeking the party leadership on a permanent basis, but Rustad says there is a way for Doerkson to become premier.
Rustad told a news conference at the legislature that there were “obviously lots of people” in B.C. who don’t know the Cariboo-Chilcotin legislator, but he called Doerkson a “quality individual” and said he would be happy to have him lead the party into an election if he wanted.
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Rustad said of speculation about the future of the Conservatives that people like former premiers Christy Clark and Gordon Campbell needed to “let politics go.”
He said Clark and Campbell were among the “players” trying now to manoeuvre what he called the centre right, and they should realize that “their time is over.”
“That may mean time is over for me, too. I don’t know,” said Rustad. “But I’m not going to be trying to force my will or my vision in terms of what our party was … onto whoever the new leaders are going to be,” he said.
“If they want me to be part of that in terms of supporting and building, I will do that. But it is time for that older generation of politicians to step aside.”
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In a statement later Monday that confirmed he had accepted Doerkson’s invitation, Rustad said talks between CentreBC and the Conservatives should succeed and the province “cannot afford two opposition parties” with an election looming.
Findlay’s resignation followed weeks of upheaval in the Conservative caucus, including the ejection of Rustad and two others on Friday.
He provided a timeline of the chaos the preceded that moment.
Rustad said he asked Findlay to step down last Wednesday at a caucus meeting, where there was “emotion and frustration around the table.”
The next day he got a text from Findlay expelling him. Fifteen minutes later that was rescinded.
But on Friday he was told he was out.
Speculation about a snap election being called, less than two years since the 2024 election, intensified Monday when the NDP announced that cabinet minister Lana Popham won’t be running for a sixth term.
“After 17 years as the MLA for Saanich South, I have made the difficult decision not to seek re-election,” she said in a statement.
The minister of agriculture said her decision not to run again was difficult and sad.
Popham’s statement came after NDP MLAs met Sunday night to discuss Findlay’s departure, according to an email from party staff that was inadvertently sent to all legislators, instead of just those on the government benches.
“I’m sure you’ve seen by now, but KLF has resigned as leader of the B.C. Conservatives,” the email obtained by The Canadian Press said.
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Lorne Doerkson named B.C. Conservatives interim leader following Findlay resignation
It went on to say the meeting was to “to discuss and hear from Cheryl and her team,” an apparent reference to Cheryl Oates, Premier David Eby’s former chief of staff, who has been appointed to manage the NDP campaign for the next election, whenever it is held.
The Canadian Press briefly attended the meeting, along with at least two Conservative legislators, before being asked to leave.
Eby said last week that he told his legislators they need to be “election ready.”
McInnis, who represents Columbia River-Revelstoke, had quit the Conservative caucus on Sept. 2, saying he did not agree with the direction of Findlay’s leadership.
Unlike other colleagues dissatisfied with Findlay, McInnis did not join CentreBC under their leader Peter Milobar.
McInnis said in a statement on Monday that the opportunity to return “home” came at a critical time for the province.
He rejected the need for “ideological purity tests” and said the prospect of a provincial election made a united opposition more important than ever.
No party had ever defeated the B.C. NDP without being a “big tent party,” he said.
McInnis said he never lost respect for his Conservative caucus colleagues, with whom he shared a “common belief that British Columbians deserve practical solutions, fiscal resposiblity, and a government focused on delivering results.”
Turmoil in the Conservative ranks, who have been divided over ideology and direction, birthed the CentreBC party which picked up eight legislators last week, including Milobar.
All are former Conservatives, including seven who quit that party’s caucus in recent weeks, while Eleanor Sturko was ejected by Rustad last year.
The legislature still says the party standings are 47 for the NDP — giving them a one-seat majority — with 24 Conservatives, two Greens, two vacancies, and 18 Independents, including those joining CentreBC, Rustad and McInnis. Those numbers have not been updated since Sunday.
Doerkson was first elected in the riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin in 2020 as a member of the B.C. Liberal party, which rebranded as B.C. United, before crossing the floor to join the Conservatives and being reelected in 2024.
