British Columbia’s Liberal party has moved the dates for the leadership vote in order to avoid a conflict with the Super Bowl.
Voting was set to take place from Feb. 2 to Feb. 4. That Sunday is also when the NFL’s 2018 Super Bowl is being held in Minneapolis.
Members will now be able to select a new leader from Feb. 1 to Feb 3, online or by telephone. The date for the BC Liberals Leadership Convention has also been moved up by one day to Feb. 3. The winner of the leadership race will be announced at the convention.
According to Sharon White, president of the BC Liberals, the party executive agreed to adjust the dates after many members expressed their concerns about an overlap between the leadership convention and the Super Bowl.
The party joked about the change on Twitter, saying the dates were moved after their request to have the Super Bowl was denied by the NFL.
1/2 After our request to have the Super Bowl moved was denied by NFL, #bclib18 will move up one day to Feb 1, 2 & 3.
— Today's BC Liberals (@bcliberals) August 30, 2017
2/2 Listening to our members is a core BC Liberal value. We’re fired up for an exciting & responsive leadership process.
— Today's BC Liberals (@bcliberals) August 30, 2017
Former premier Christy Clark resigned as party leader on Aug. 4 and also resigned her seat in the Kelowna West riding. Fort Langley-Aldergrove MLA Rich Coleman was selected as interim leader. Neil Thomson, who is a business consultant from Kamloops, is the only candidate to actually declare so far.
Alexa Huffman
