A new leader is heading the BC Liberal Party and will soon become BC’s premier.
Premier-designate Christy Clark won the leadership race with 52 per cent of the vote, followed by Kevin Falcon at 48 per cent. The results took three ballot counts of a preferential ballot. Mike de Jong was eliminated on the first count and George Abbott was knocked out on the second ballot.
Before she resigned from government six years ago, Clark was deputy premier under Premier Gordon Campbell and served as education minister and minister of children and family development. Recently, she has been the host of a radio talk show and will soon become BC’s 35th premier and the second woman to head BC’s government.
“I want you to be my partners in change in Victoria,” Clark said in her victory speech on Saturday, February 26. “You can count on me to listen. You can count on me to engage.”
Clark said her focus will be on families, creating jobs, fighting poverty and making “rural BC a full partner in our prosperity.”
Kevin Sigouin, president of the Powell River-Sunshine Coast BC Liberal Riding Association, said Clark was first choice of party members in the riding, with 48 per cent of the vote. Falcon and Abbott both had 25 per cent, while de Jong had about two per cent.
The results of the Powell River-Sunshine Coast riding were similar to ridings on Vancouver Island, excluding Victoria ridings, Sigouin said. “Basically, Duncan-Cowichan north and the Sunshine Coast, everywhere, everyone pretty well voted the same,” he said. “Majority to Christy Clark, being very close to 50 per cent or more, with George and Kevin pretty well the same, in the low 20s.”
The only exception was the Comox Valley, Sigouin added, which voted 42 per cent for Abbott and 39 per cent for Clark, with Falcon falling to 16 per cent.
Sigouin said he thought party members voted for Clark because they were looking for change. “They were looking for new leadership,” he said. “I’ve spoken to quite a few of our members in the riding and the feeling is optimistic.”
Already, the other candidates and key figures in the party are uniting under Clark, Sigouin said. “They’re saying, we are going to support Christy, we will stay together as a team, we have to build on our coalition and we have to make the BC Liberal Party the choice for the public of the province.”
Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons, a candidate in the NDP (New Democratic Party) leadership race, congratulated Clark. “It’s going to be interesting times for her party and she has a significant challenge ahead,” he said. “She knows that keeping the coalition together is a challenge. It was a hard-fought race.”
One of the first things Clark said she will do is move up the HST referendum, from September to June, Simons pointed out. “We’re going to be back in the legislature to change the legislation to allow that,” he said. “I don’t want to be negative, but I do have questions about her role in the ministry of education and ministry of children and families. I think that is something that will be coming up more.”
Clark has said she wants to run in a by-election as soon as possible in order to seek a seat in the legislature. She also said she was not thinking about calling a general election in the next few months.
The NDP will choose a new leader on April 17.
