Double duty: B.C. Conservatives prepare for leadership race and potential snap election

A new committee is now meeting to determine next steps in selecting the new leader of the B.C. Conservative Party.

From the top-most ranks to newly joined volunteers, the B.C. Conservative Party is starting out the new year preparing for both a high-profile leadership race as well as the possibility the ruling New Democrats could take advantage of their vulnerability and call a snap election.

The party has announced a Leadership Election Organizing Committee comprised of lawyers and Conservative stalwarts to iron out the minutiae of the leadership race, which has general parameters but lacks certain details they’re now working on—including when voting starts.

“We’re an old party, the last time I think the party was in government was in 1926, but it was in a dormant phase for many, many decades,” said Angelo Isidorou, the B.C. Conservatives’ executive director.

“We’ve been preparing to not only run a leadership race, but we’re also doing election readiness,” he revealed, adding they are preparing for multiple scenarios including a call before a new leader is chosen and a call that comes “10 minutes after.”

Premier David Eby has faced constant questions from journalists as to whether he’s tempted to call a snap election given the chaos on the right, even though it’s just a year into the current term.

While he hasn’t ruled out the possibility, he’s reiterated that he doesn’t think British Columbians want to return to the polls so soon.

Of course, there are many factors the NDP are considering in striking while the Opposition is lead by a temporary figurehead: Eby’s popularity numbers are tepid, their housing agenda is starting to have an effect but hardly making waves, and the party’s strategies to address crime and toxic drugs aren’t having a clear impact.

“I think it’s too risky, despite the fact that they have benefited from the chaos within the Conservative party and it’s taken the heat of the NDP and given them some breathing room,” suggested Sanjay Jeram, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University.

“I think it wouldn’t work in the way they might hope that they could sort of catch the Conservative Party off guard, and I think the public would punish them for that.”

Isidorou also believes the New Democrats run that risk and is prepared to highlight the political opportunism should Eby make that decision.

The Conservatives expect mail-in and electronic voting to elect their new leader, rather than a full convention, anticipating a spring campaign and leadership race.

“We want something that we can conclude going into the summer and allowing the new leader that opportunity to tour the province, to build momentum and then to go back into the house in the fall,” said Isidorou.