Photo: Casey Richardson
A large majority of those attending the BC Liberal party convention in Penticton voted Saturday to begin consultations on a new name for the party.
Speaking in a name-changing plenary, leader Kevin Falcon said that “renewing, rebuilding and revitalizing this party was the backbone of his leadership campaign.”
“One of the commitments I made was to explore a name change,” he said. “The vast majority of citizens do not identify with political labels.”
“I anticipate and believe they will vote on the power of our ideas.”
The vote approved by members will allow the party to explore potential alternatives. At the end of the year, party members will have the opportunity to vote on a proposed new name or maintain the current brand.
It was noted that the process must move forward quickly if a new name is to be established before the 2024 provincial elections.
During the plenary session, the members had one minute to address the party, yes or no. Members were asked to address if they wanted a name change and why.
The line of the speakers for the yes was much longer from the beginning, and members spoke of the need for a refreshment and wanted to separate from being “grouped” with the federal liberal party, as they are not there. affiliates.
“We are not all liberals and we are not all conservatives,” said one MP. “No matter how you identify with federal politics, we stop carrying federal policies. We find a name that represents us only in this room, and we can try to really move on to the next election.”
“As a provincial party, we need to separate and renew ourselves with a provincial mandate, not a federal mandate. And there is a lot of confusion here in the minds of the electorate. And so to allow a bounce understanding of the provincial perspective, and the provincial coalition of thought, I vote yes for change, ”said another.
A supporter of maintaining the Liberal name argued that the party’s problem has never been to be called the BC Liberals, but has always stuck with politics. They added that if the party had to work to change its name, it was a distraction from the rest of the work that the party would do.
It was noted during the meeting that the name “BC Party” is not available. The party will also work to ensure that it does not lose its subsidy through ElectionsBC and, if its name is changed, will ensure that another political party cannot assume the Liberal name.
The BC Liberals will immediately begin a broader consultation process over the coming months before holding a vote by all party members before the end of the year. A party executive will form a name change committee with the mandate to set deadlines and the consultation process.
Following the approval of the vote, the BC NDP issued a press release arguing that “the name change cannot hide Kevin Falcon’s record of putting the first one percent ahead of everyone else.”
“Kevin Falcon can’t hide his record behind a new coat of paint,” MP Andrew Mercier said. “In government, it gave big tax breaks to the richest 1% of people, then increased costs like ICBC and MSP and made deep cuts to schools and hospitals.”
Penticton MP Dan Ashton voted yes to the name change, and then told Castanet he wanted to take a look at the process.
“Let’s go through the process and look, never be afraid to look in the mirror,” he said, adding that this is “democracy at work.”
Photo: Casey Richardson
Voting posters have been collected to begin the process of renaming the consultation