Liberals to vote next February on new leader

The B.C. Liberals have officially launched the process to select the next leader of the party.

The B.C. Liberal leadership election organizing committee says voting will take place next year from Feb. 3-5, with the winner to be announced Feb. 5.

The former leader of the party, Andrew Wilkinson, officially resigned last week.

“We are excited to begin the race for the leadership of our party, a process that will help to shape the future of B.C. politics” interim party president Don Silversides said in a statement.

“We have set the vote for February 2022 to attract the broadest possible range of candidates to the race, and give them the best possible opportunity to engage British Columbians in-person, when hopefully the pandemic is more under control.”

The deadline to join the party or renew a membership in order to vote is Dec. 29. The application deadline for candidates interested in running for leadership is Nov. 30.

Wilkinson announced his intention to step down Oct. 26, two days after the Liberals suffered a major defeat to the NDP in the provincial election, losing 13 seats in several traditional Liberal strongholds in Metro Vancouver.

Wilkinson, who faced criticism for being elitist and his failure to quickly condemn sexism and homophobia within his party, initially said he would remain as leader until a permanent replacement was chosen.

However, pressure from inside the party forced him to step aside and six-term MLA Shirley Bond was appointed interim leader in November.