British Columbia’s New Democratic Party says it will announce a new leader on Sept. 28.
Party members will vote on leadership candidates for four days before the party convention in Vancouver.
“We had to take into consideration the fact that we need to get a leader in place in advance of the next election, so we need to do that in a timely fashion to build for a victory in 2017,” said Craig Keating, president of the B.C. NDP.
NDP Leader Adrian Dix announced in September that he would step down after the party’s loss in the May 2013 election. He plans to stay on as MLA for Vancouver-Kingsway.
Dix failed to unseat Premier Christy Clark’s Liberals despite going into the election with a 20-point lead in public opinion polls. Instead, the New Democrats ended up with one fewer seat in the provincial legislature than they entered the race with.
The deadline to join the party — and be able to vote for the new leader — is June 26. Members will vote by preferential ballot via a phone and Internet voting system.
In December, Dix predicted the leadership race would heat up this month and said he expects currently elected provincial New Democrats — and not their federal counterparts — to dominate the field.
B.C. NDP MPs Nathan Cullen, Peter Julian and Fin Donnelly have said thanks, but no thanks, to the job opening.
So far, no NDP caucus members have officially declared their candidacy.
NDP house leader John Horgan, who came third in the 2011 leadership race, has said he won’t run. The Juan de Fuca MLA said last year he thinks the party should look to the “next generation” for its leader to inject fresh blood into the provincial NDP.
Victoria-Swan Lake MLA Rob Fleming said Saturday he’s considering running, but isn’t ready to officially announce his decision.
“Now that the rules and timeline has been set, I think that gives myself and a number of others who are considering running for the leadership some certainty as to how proceed,” he told the Times Colonist.
The September timeline means “it’s certainly going to be a long race,” Fleming said. “I think members are going to have ample time to do the vetting and make up their mind as to who they want to lead the party.”
A Facebook group has popped up encouraging Saanich South MLA Lana Popham to run for the leadership, but Popham said she’s not going to run.
“I’m 100 per cent focused on Saanich South and I’m really enjoying my critic role [in small business, tourism, arts and culture] and I’m completely focused on the upcoming session,” she said Saturday.
NDP finance critic Mike Farnworth, who came second to Dix in 2011, has indicated he might run again. Former union leader George Heyman and legal advocate David Eby, who unseated Premier Christy Clark in the Vancouver-Point Grey riding, are also expected to run.
— With files from The Canadian Press
