BC Liberal members will decide this weekend whether they want to follow through with newly-elected leader Kevin Falcon’s promise to refresh and rename the party.
Liberals will hold their annual convention in Penticton, where they’ll vote on a resolution on Saturday that reads:
“To further the renewal of the BC Liberal Party that better reflects the coalition, and diversity of values and principles of our membership: Be it resolved that the BC Liberal Party undergo a brand renewal process including, through consultation, the consideration of a new name, with a forthcoming recommendation to be electronically voted upon by BC Liberal members later this year.”
Falcon, who won the party’s leadership in February, said the name change will help eliminate any confusion between the BC Liberal Party and the federal Liberal Party of Canada. The two parties are not related or joined in any way.
“When I launched my campaign I committed to total party renewal,” Falcon told CHEK News.
“I wanted the party to be more diverse, a principles-based party, reenergized and revitalized and that included a potential rebranding,” he said.
“The way the party is structured is it’s a grassroots party and the members have to want to make that decision.”
It will not be an easy decision for some.
The BC Liberal brand dominated B.C. politics from 2001 to 2017 under premiers Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark, and some members are unlikely to want to throw away what still may be a viable political identity. Others cite years of accumulated baggage and voter fatigue as the reason for a reset, rebrand and renaming exercise.
If approved, the committee will search what other political names are available, consult with the membership and select one option to be presented for a vote later this year.
“Changing the name is not the hardest thing to do, the issue is can we find another name that will be representative enough,” said Falcon.
“What we’re trying to do is avoid any connections to anyone and be as big a tent party as we can possibly be.”
Part of that will include how to terminate the BC Liberal brand in a way that would prevent mischievous political opponents from running candidates under the banner to confuse the public and siphon away votes, said Falcon.
The history of the BC Liberal Party can be traced back, in part, to the earliest days of B.C. politics.
British Columbia had a “Liberal Party” from 1903 to the late 1980s, which was a joint-federal provincial party with one membership base.
Much of its support amongst centre-right voters was eaten away in the 1950s to 1980s by the Social Credit Party, before in 1991 delegates separated from the federal apparatus and created the standalone BC Liberal Party that exists today.
The BC Liberals peaked in 2001 with a crushing victory over the BC NDP, taking control of an unprecedented 77 of 79 seats in the B.C. legislature. The party’s margin of victory has shrunk ever since, before falling one seat short of a majority in 2017 and losing power to the BC NDP (at the time backed by the BC Greens).
The BC Liberals were sounded defeated in the 2020 election to finish with only 28 seats — the party’s lowest showing since it became its own entity in 1991, with seats mainly in BC’s interior and northern areas.
The weekend convention also includes party workshops on winning urban voters, building grassroots movements — campaign college and MLA accountability session.
Central Saanich councillor Niall Paltiel is co-chairing the convention, alongside former BC Liberal candidate and lawyer Puneet Sandhar.
“I was thrilled with the opportunity to be involved in that kind of grassroots renewal I think the party is looking for, and grassroots members are looking for,” he said.
“My role is facilitating the discussion. There are some folks rolling up their sleeves and ready to rebrand and renew, and others who feel the current name and party direction has served us well in the past, forming government and in consecutive previous elections.”
Falcon said he’ll use the convention gathering to reinforce the idea that a New Democrats could call a snap election as early as 2023 if Premier John Horgan decides to retire this year.
“It’s important if we are going to do something like this then we move quickly,” said Falcon.
“Even though we brought in fixed election dates that say we’re not supposed to have an election until the fall of 2024, I don’t trust the NDP government at all. They called an election in the midst of the pandemic, which was a cynical, blatant attempt to take advantage of a global pandemic to win a majority. Do you think I for a second trust them to obey the law and wait until 2025 to call the next election? Not at all.”
“I’m going to be going forward under the assumption there’s an excellent chance we could be facing a spring 2023, election and make sure everything we do is preparing for that eventuality.”
Rob Shaw
