Vancouver Island may be a typically tough spot for the B.C. Liberal Party, but that isn’t stopping several candidates in a packed Liberal leadership race from beginning to court Island support.
Conservative MP Dianne Watts began her campaign with several stops on Vancouver Island, while former transportation minister Todd Stone visited Victoria hours after announcing his leadership bid in Surrey.
“One of the things the B.C. Liberals have to do is rebuild trust of British Columbians and reconnect with people and communities. That was one of my focuses when I went over to the Island,” Watts said. The former Surrey mayor started her tour of the province with stops in Nanaimo, Courtenay-Comox, Campbell River, Ladysmith and Duncan.
“I thought it was really important to do that.”
With seven candidates declared, there’s little elbow room in the race to replace former leader Christy Clark. Officially vying for the position are Watts and Terrace businesswoman Lucy Sager, plus five MLAs: Stone, Mike de Jong, Michael Lee, Sam Sullivan and Andrew Wilkinson. Former education minister Mike Bernier withdrew from the contest on Saturday, throwing his support behind de Jong.
None of the contenders is based on Vancouver Island.
The region, home to about 16 per cent of British Columbians, presents a special challenge for Liberals. It’s a traditional NDP stronghold and while it has provided some fertile soil for the Green Party, the Liberal Party has had a tougher time taking hold.
Despite an Island-specific platform championed by 14 “Island Champion” candidates in the May provincial election, the party lost one of its two seats here, leaving Parksville-Qualicum MLA Michelle Stilwell waving the party flag on her own.
Stilwell, who is officially supporting Wilkinson, said it’s “fantastic” to see so many candidates in the race and that it shows drive to renew the party.
She said Wilkinson is the only candidate who approached her to ask about Vancouver Island — what she is hearing from constituents, what went right and wrong with the Island platform.
The Island has to be included if the Liberal Party is to rebuild support across the province, she said.
“As we move forward rebuilding our party and engaging people from around B.C., that’s the focus. It has to be all of B.C.,” Stilwell said.
Central Saanich Coun. Niall Patel, who is a Liberal Party member, said he is supporting Stone, in part because of Stone’s view that there needs to be a long-term plan for building grassroots support.
“In order to get people from Vancouver Island to reach out and support the B.C. Liberal Party, the B.C. Liberal Party is going to have to reach out and support Vancouver Island,” Patel said.
Stone said he would represent Vancouver Island by “showing up,” and pointed to transportation projects that got provincial support while he was minister: the McKenzie interchange, construction on the Malahat and Bike B.C. grants.
Rookie MLA Michael Lee, who entered politics this year as a Vancouver business lawyer, went to law school at the University of Victoria.
Lee said he would encourage regional economic development on the Island through initiatives such as co-locating private entreprises alongside colleges and campus to encourage innovation.
The Liberal party is still confirming a number of dates and venues, but the B.C. Liberal Women’s Network is planning an event in Victoria Oct. 30 and a leadership debate is being scheduled in Nanaimo for mid-November.
Individual candidates are also planning their own campaign stops.
The Liberals will elect their new leader in February.
