BC Liberals meet in search of a new path to power

The need to create a new brand and strategy dominated the debate at the BC Liberal Congress in Vancouver on Saturday.

The BC Liberals, with only a few seats in the provincial government in the minority legislature, are trying to find a way to return to power after the end of their 16-year term in last year's government . This is a question that weighs on the party's convention this weekend.

The opposition party is committed to supporting the "no" vote in a referendum on proportional representation in the province, but still faces the broader issue of developing a new discourse on support for British Columbia. the electors.

The Liberals have 42 seats in an 87-seat legislature. The 41-member NDP caucus governs with the support of three Green Party members from across the province. There is an independent.

New Democrat Prime Minister John Horgan, who came to power last year, talked about governing for at least four years. An NDP representative at the convention has ruled out holding tactical elections.

"We will not be playing these games" it's time to call an election, "said Ravi Kahlon, NDP Observer, Parliamentary Secretary for Sport and Multiculturalism." We have a lot of work to do. People elected us to do this work. "

Addressing about 1,000 delegates, Jess Ketchum, a member of the British Columbia Liberal campaign readiness committee, said it was clear that in the 2017 elections, the party had lost from the field facing British-Columbians from the working clbad that he nicknamed "strivers" a better life for themselves.

"What they are looking for in a government is a government that makes life easier in British Columbia, no more difficult; a government that creates, not obstacles to success, but opportunities for all British Columbians. "

This reality, tested by the party in the focus groups, led to a change of party name, announced Saturday the The Liberals of British Columbia today at British Columbia Liberals – An opportunity for all of British Columbia.

Party leader Andrew Wilkinson said the work is underway on a platform. "It's going very well together," he told reporters after an introductory speech.

Asked what was wrong with the Liberals in the last election, Wilkinson said that in the last election, the party talked about debt and credit scores rather than core values. .

"The New Democrats were in their Vancouver suburbs," said Wilkinson, who succeeded former prime minister Christy Clark as party leader eight months ago.

"There is something to learn from this. The politics is very local. You must speak with your interlocutors about their own concerns and make sure that they feel they are being heard, "said Mr. Wilkinson.

He said the process of bringing together a thousand people to debate resolutions was an opportunity to listen to the grbadroots that would contribute to the development of an election platform.

Mr. Wilkinson nonetheless mentioned some of the first ideas, including the elimination of 18 taxes that he believes have been adopted by the NDP since coming to power last year.

Mr. WIlkinson, whose ruling party had been placed in the forefront for its management of ICBC – the vehicle insurance company of the provincial Crown corporation, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia – has stated that it might be time to rethink the operation situation after 45 years of operation,.

"We also need to talk about what we could have done and what could have been done better. We must be prepared to review and rebadess issues that have occurred in the past. "

The party's tight position in the BC legislature could shrink in the coming months. Last month, one of the NDP members won the Nanaimo mayoral, paving the way for his exit from provincial politics.

If the BC Liberals won a by-election in their ridings, they would be tied to the ruling alliance between the NDP and the Green Party. The independent member of the legislature is former Liberal Darryl Plecas, who is currently the chair.