British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election, 2018

A British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election will be held on February 3, 2018, due to the resignation of Christy Clark as Liberal leader on August 4, 2017. Rich Coleman was elected interim leader announcing that he has no intention of running for leader, but would resign as interim leader if he changed his mind, adding that he does not anticipate changing his mind. Background edit Under leaders Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark, the BC Liberal Party governed the province from 2001 until June 2017. In May 2017, the provincial election resulted in a hung parliament, with the Liberals holding 43 seats, one short of the 44 required for a majority. Clark initially formed a minority government, but resigned as premier after being defeated in a confidence vote by an alliance of the British Columbia New Democratic Party and Green Party of British Columbia. On July 28, 2017, Clark announced that she would resign as party leader and as MLA for Kelowna West on August 4. The BC Liberal Caucus selected Rich Coleman, MLA for Langley East, as interim leader, to serve until a permanent leader can be chosen. Procedure: Party president Sharon White released a statement on Clark’s resignation on the same day it was announced. This statement specified that the exact timeline and details of the leadership election process would be finalized within 28 days. As per the party’s constitution, the election will give all party members a vote, but will give equal weight to all 87 constituencies in tallying the results.

Timeline: December 29, 2017: Nomination and to become a member of the party and be eligible to vote deadline is finished. February 1, 2018 at 9 am - voting begins. February 3, 2018 at 5 pm - voting ends, results announced. Declared candidates:: 1. Mike de Jong 2. Michael Lee 3. Todd Stone 4. Sam Sullivan 5. Dianne Watts 6. Andrew Wilkinson British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election, 2018 Date February 3, 2018 Resigning leader Christy Clark Entrance Fee $60,000 Spending limit $600,000