Valley MLAs pleased with party leader
Andrew Wilkinson coming soon to riding
New B.C. Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson will soon come to the Okanagan to campaign for Ben Stewart, the party’s candidate in the Feb. 14 KelownaWest by-election.
Wilkinson edged out chief rival Dianne Watts on the fifth ballot to win the party’s leadership on Saturday night.
“Winning KelownaWest is an important part of the momentum that we B.C. Liberals hope to build heading toward the next provincial election,” Stewart said Sunday. “Andrew has told me it’s a priority for him to come here as soon as he can.”
Wilkinson is a doctor, lawyer, former cabinet minister, and past president of the BC Liberal party. He had the most endorsements of any candidate among Liberal MLAs.
For his part, Stewart, who represented Kelowna-West between 2009 and 2013, did not back any of the candidates vying to succeed Christy Clark as BC Liberal leader.
“I didn’t want to endorse anyone because I’ll have to work with whoever the leader is if I win the upcoming by-election,” Stewart said.
Stewart said he wanted a leader who would build unity in the Liberal caucus, keep the coalition of federal Liberals and federal Conservatives intact under the BC Liberal brand, and give the party the best chance of winning the next provincial election.
“All the candidates had different strengths, but I think Andrew Wilkinson is the complete package,” Stewart said.
Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Norm Letnick had endorsed Wilkinson in the leadership campaign.
“I wish to congratulate all the candidates and their teams that worked hard during the leadership campaign,” Letnick said in an email. “I’m looking forward to returning to the legislature in a few days to meet with caucus under our new leader and continue the work of representing the people of the Central Okanagan.”
Kelowna-Mission MLA Steve Thomson endorsed Kamloops MLA Todd Stone for the leadership. Stone was eliminated after the third round of voting. Penticton Liberal MLA Dan Ashton did not endorse anyone for the leadership prior to the convention.
“It was a decision for party members to make, and I didn’t think it was up to me to try to sway them,” Ashton said Sunday.
“Andrew Wilkinson is a doctor, lawyer, and Rhodes scholar, so he’s obviously a very intelligent man,” Ashton said. “But when I was working with him, I also found him to be very down-toearth and approachable.”
Although Watts was a popular multi-term mayor of Surrey, Ashton noted the Liberal leadership campaign gave equal weight to ridings around B.C., and suggested Wilkinson was more popular outside the Lower Mainland than was Watts.
“There wasn’t necessarily a big advantage to being a candidate from one of the province’s most populous areas,” Ashton said.
VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s Liberals turned to a former cabinet minister with a blue blood intellectual pedigree and deep rural roots to lead them Saturday night, as Andrew Wilkinson appealed to his caucus colleagues to help him expand and broaden the party’s membership.
Wilkinson, 60, a doctor, lawyer and Rhodes Scholar, said leadership candidates who pushed the party to widen its support should be listened to after losing its 16-year grip on power last year.
"Take those Liberal values, build out this party,” he said after defeating former Conservative MP Dianne Watts in a fifth round of vote counting.
He stood on the stage after his victory with his wife Barbara Grantham, members of the Liberal caucus and Watts, who resigned as a federal Conservative MP to seek the party leadership in a field of six candidates.
Wilkinson said the Liberals must unite as a party and get back to the days and values of former Liberal premiers Christy Clark and Gordon Campbell.
“We have to respect that work and understand those values that got us here,” he said. “We are the party that doesn’t spend our children’s money.”
He also began to galvanize the party to fight a referendum this fall on proportional representation, saying it would benefit the NDP and Greens who support changing the province’s voting system.
“So let’s get ourselves organized because we have work to do this summer,” he said. “We have a challenge in front of us.”
Prior to his political career, Wilkinson worked as a lawyer in Vancouver and before that he was a doctor in different parts of B.C., including Campbell River, Lillooet and Dease Lake.
He served in a number of cabinet positions, among them attorney general, minister of advanced education, and minister of technology and innovation.
The hotel ballroom erupted with cheers of “Andrew, Andrew” when he defeated Watts.
He won with just over 53 per cent support after the final round of vote counting, while Watts had just under 47 per cent. Watts led the contest after four rounds of voting.
Watts indicated she wants to play a role in B.C. politics in the future.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “I’ve committed myself to being part of the party.”
FIRST ROUND RESULTS (total points: 8,700; points needed for victory: 4,351) Dianne Watts: 2,135 points – 24.54% Michael Lee: 1,917 points – 22.03% Andrew Wilkinson: 1,591 points – 18.29% Todd Stone: 1,483 points – 17.05% Mike de Jong: 1,415 points – 16.27% Sam Sullivan: 158 points – 1.82% (Sullivan is eliminated from the race)
SECOND ROUND RESULTS (total points: 8,700; points needed for victory: 4,351) Dianne Watts: 2,169 points – 24.93% Michael Lee: 1,960 points – 22.53% Andrew Wilkinson: 1,631 points – 18.74% Todd Stone: 1,505 points – 17.3% Mike de Jong: 1,436 points – 16.51% (De Jong is eliminated from the race)
Barinder Rasode, a two-term Surrey councillor and former mayoral candidate, said Wilkinson will bring the Liberals back from their low point following last year’s election.
“Andrew Wilkinson has the support of all the caucus,” she said. “He’s well qualified. I couldn’t have hoped for better.”
New Democrat Ravi Kahlon congratulated Wilkinson on behalf of the governing party.
“Right now, the stakes couldn’t be higher for British Columbians. People are counting on us to make life more affordable, protect the services they count on and keep investing in a sustainable economy,” Kahlon said in a statement.
“We look forward to working with you on legislation that works for all the people of this great province.”
Green party Leader Andrew Weaver also congratulated Wilkinson. The two men have engaged in testy debates in the legislature.
Former transportation minister Todd Stone, one-time finance minister Mike de Jong and Liberal caucus members Sam Sullivan and Michael Lee were eliminated from the leadership contest earlier in the evening.
An estimated 60,000 party members were eligible to vote online and by phone to replace Clark, who resigned after the New Democrats formed a minority government last summer with support from
THIRD ROUND RESULTS (total points: 8,700; points needed for victory: 4,351) Dianne Watts: 2,469 points – 28.83% Michael Lee: 2,264 points – 26.03% Andrew Wilkinson: 2,201 points – 25.29% Todd Stone: 1,766 points – 20.29% (Stone is eliminated from the race.)
It took all five ballots for the BC Liberals to elect its new leader, Saturday. Here are the round by round results.
FOURTH ROUND RESULTS (total points: 8,700; points needed for victory: 4,351) Dianne Watts: 3,006 points – 34.55% Andrew Wilkinson: 2,862 points – 32.89% Michael Lee: 2,813 points – 32.56% (Lee is eliminated from the race.)
FIFTH ROUND RESULTS (total points: 8,700; points needed for victory: 4,351) Andrew Wilkinson: 4,621 points Dianne Watts: 4,079 points (Wilkinson declared the winner.) the Greens.
The Liberals used a preferential ballot that allowed its members to rank the candidates, and points were awarded based on their support.
The B.C. Liberal party is not affiliated with the federal Liberals. It describes itself as “a made-in-B.C. free enterprise coalition” that includes members of the federal Conservative and Liberal parties.
Getting the party back to power after a lacklustre election campaign last May was the main focus of the leadership campaign.
There was finger-pointing in debates over who was to blame for the Liberal downfall, despite B.C. boasting the strongest economy in Canada.
Some candidates criticized the party’s old guard for failing to address transportation, housing and social policy issues that led to losses in seatrich Metro Vancouver, once a Liberal stronghold.
Wilkinson ran his campaign on four priorities: security, opportunity, prosperity and sustainability.
His promises included selling government-owned liquor stores, establishing a junior kindergarten pilot program, improving skills training for Indigenous youth, providing tax incentives to increase the supply of rental housing and taking regulatory steps that would allow municipalities to increase the supply of new housing.