Merrified joins leadership race
Rookie politician Renee Merrifield is touting her business experience and “creative common sense” as she prepares to run for the leadership of the BC Liberal Party.
The Kelowna-Mission MLA, elected last fall in her first bid for public office, intends to join the field of contenders trying to succeed Andrew Wilkinson as head of the right-ofcentre party.
Merrifield, who could not be reached Monday, is a partner and chief executive officer of
Troika Group, a Kelowna-based development firm. Her website says she has helped to build 30 companies across B.C.
In 2019, she unsuccessfully sought the Conservative Party of Canada’s nomination for the riding of Kelowna-Lake Country, losing to former Kelowna city councillor Tracy Gray.
Last year, she was named by Wilkinson to run for the BC Liberals in the provincial riding of Kelowna-Mission, held for 11 years by Steve Thomson. She easily won the riding with almost 51% of the vote.
But the Liberals lost the provincial election to the incumbent NDP and Wilkinson announced his intention to step down as leader.
Since being elected, Merrifield has been the Liberals' critic for Health. She has been criticized by NDP MLAs and that party’s supporters for some tweets which they say amounted to an attack on provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
For her part, Merrifield said the NDP had “manipulated and warped” the meaning of her tweets. “I have so much respect for her,” Merrifield said of Henry last December. “I have said that on record and to her personally. She has one of the toughest jobs right now.”
Merrfield also presented a petition in the legislature in June, signed by 4,500 people, asking that the mask mandate in public schools be lifted. She said on Twitter that while she disagreed with the premise of the petition, she felt it was her duty as an MLA to present it in the legislature.