Mike drop: Bernier bows out of B.C. Liberal leadership race
Mike Bernier has dropped out of the B.C. Liberal leadership race.
His announcement, made Saturday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver, comes a day before the first candidates debate.
The MLA for Peace River South and former education minister says it was a difficult decision, but he wants to make sure the party picks a leader who can beat New Democrat leader John Horgan.
He threw his support to former finance minister Mike de Jong and will be co-chair of de Jong’s leadership campaign.
Bernier said he didn’t want to go into Sunday’s debate with the knowledge that de Jong was a stronger candidate for the leadership.
“My goal in this leadership race has always been a strong B.C. Liberal party,” said Bernier.
“I want to make sure that we are building a stronger team, so that’s why I’m stepping out of the leadership race and I’m putting my full support behind somebody who is a team builder and someone who can keep our coalition strong.”
He said de Jong has the experience as finance minister and the respect of members to win the leadership.
Bernier denied that his decision was a funding issue, saying that he had the funds to continue. The party collects $10,000 from each candidate approved to run, another $15,000 each before the first debate, and then a final $25,000 to be on the ballot.
“The decision for me to do this today has to do with the fact that I wanted to make sure we gave the party the respect that is needed going into the debates. I felt it was not fair to my family, my team, and my supporters if I actually went into the debate starting tomorrow and continued on if in my gut I felt that Mike de Jong is probably the best chance to win in the next election,” he said.
The candidates debate is the first of six and will be held in Surrey on Sunday. Party members are expected to choose a leader to replace former premier Christy Clark early next year.
Bernier, an education minister under Clark, was elected MLA for Peace River South in 2013.
He served as parliamentary secretary for energy literacy and the environment, before taking over the education portfolio in 2015.