Members of the British Columbia Liberal Party have approved a process to potentially change the party’s name by the end of the year.
Party members voted on the resolution at a convention in Penticton on Saturday that welcomed new leader Kevin Falcon and tried to define the party’s strategy for the next election, which is scheduled for the fall of 2024.
The resolution passed on Saturday will give all members of the BC Liberal Party a chance to vote on a new name or keep the current one at the end of the year.
“The name of the party must be one that reflects a diverse and inclusive coalition of big tents,” Falcon said in a statement shortly after the vote of some 800 delegates.
The BC Liberals are not affiliated with the Federal Liberal Party and have been described as a “free enterprise coalition made in the BC.”
Liberal Trevor Halford, who represents the Surrey-White Rock team in the legislature, said about 75% of delegates voted in favor of the name change process.
The party said it would immediately begin a broader consultation process over the coming months before holding a vote by all party members before the end of the year.
Today, the BC Liberal delegates in the
We want to hear from you!
Go there. a pic.twitter.com/DzrQDcHAAe
– @bcliberals
The party has launched an online consultation portal for members to contribute.
“This is a decision that members will ultimately make, and we want to hear from everyone, so we encourage people to connect and give us their thoughts,” Falcon said.
Name change expired: former cabinet minister
Falcon, who won the leadership race earlier this year, vowed to renew and rebuild the party in a “root-to-branch” process that included Saturday’s vote to start a process that could see the Liberals run. with a new name.
Some MPs who spoke since the convention, which has 800 delegates, said there has been a desire to consider a new name.
Former Liberal Cabinet Minister Mary Polak said she believes the name change has been delayed.
“For many, many years there has been a large group of members who have wanted to see a name change,” he said. “Part of how you express your identity as a party is through your name.”
Great turnout for tonight’s leader’s dinner at the pic. twitter.com/zHNPo4icwy
– @AndrewJReeve
Polak, a former four-term Langley MP with deep conservative federal roots, said she often had to explain to voters during elections that she was not running for federal Liberals.
“Sometimes he would knock on the door and the owner would come out and say, ‘Mary, have you changed your loyalty?’ ‘He said.
“It’s time,” Polak said. “I don’t think the name now clearly identifies the party.”
BC Electoral Law prohibits registration of a party with a name that has appeared on a ballot paper for the past 10 years.
The Liberals were reduced to 28 seats in the 87-seat legislature in the province in the last election, but are coming out of a spring legislative session where they challenged the New Democrat government on health issues and plan to embark on a major project. of museum reconstruction.
“We’re seeing a government focused on a $ 1 billion museum when we have schools that haven’t improved seismically. We have one in five people who can’t find a GP, almost a million people,” he said. Halford.
“The next step is to become a government”
The recent political action of the Liberals in the legislature, the new leader and the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions to allow meetings have contributed to a family reunion atmosphere at the convention, he said.
“We’re focused on the next step and the next step is to become government,” Halford said. “Right now we have a very, very energetic group that has seen the massive cracks that are being shown in this NDP government.”
Falcon is scheduled to speak at the convention Sunday.