BC Conservative Board to Amend Party Constitution Allowing Doerkson to Remain Leader If He Becomes Premier

The BC Conservative Party’s board of directors says Lorne Doerkson will remain leader if the party wins the provincial election.

Doerkson has served as the party’s interim leader since Kerry-Lynne Findlay stepped down from her position heading the party on Sept. 20 and is serving as the party’s chief following B.C. NDP Leader David Eby’s Sept. 22 announcement of a snap election.

Under the party’s constitution, an interim leader can only serve until a new leader is chosen and can’t run in a leadership contest, but the party’s board said it “will pursue the appropriate means” to change its constitution and bylaws so that Doerkson stays on as leader if the party wins the Oct. 24 election.

“A Premier chosen by British Columbians deserves the certainty of leading his party. This amendment will provide it,” the board wrote in a Sept. 23 statement.

Under Article 10.03 of the party’s constitution, constitutional and bylaw amendments to the constitution are voted on at the party’s annual general meeting or a special general meeting, and require at least a two-thirds majority vote of the members present in order to be passed.

The statement confirms what Doerkson said at his first post-election-call press conference on Sept. 22 when asked about the issue.

“This was a bit of a surprise to myself as well, and so my feeling at this point is that I’m running for premier right now,” he said.

Doerkson

Prior to entering politics, Doerkson spent several decades working in the newspaper industry and went on to jobs in the automotive sector and financial services.

He’s represented the riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin in the B.C. Interior since first being elected as an MLA with 51.3 percent of the vote in 2020 as a BC Liberal.

Doerkson remained with the party, which changed its name to BC United in 2023, until 2024, when he crossed the floor to join the BC Conservatives under then-Leader John Rustad.

The Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA said at the time that his decision to switch parties was motivated by constituents who wanted him to join the B.C. Tories and felt that the failure of BC United and the BC Conservatives to reach a cooperation agreement risked splitting the vote and helping the B.C. NDP remain in power.

Doerkson was reelected in the 2024 provincial election with 69.6 percent of the vote, with his NDP rival receiving 30.4 percent.

Doerkson’s recent legislative record generally aligns with the BC Conservatives on fiscal and resource development matters, including voting against provincial NDP budgets and voting in favour of repealing the provincial carbon tax, which was introduced in B.C. in 2008 under the former BC Liberal government of Premier Gordon Campbell.

After being appointed interim leader of the BC Conservatives Sept. 20, Doerkson invited former party leader Rustad, former interim leader Trevor Halford, and several other caucus members who had been removed or left the BC Conservatives, back into the party, an offer that they accepted.

Seven other MLAs who had joined the breakaway CentreBC party, including former leadership candidate Peter Milobar, also subsequently rejoined the BC Conservative caucus on Sept. 22, while Findlay’s husband MLA Brent Chapman left the B.C. Tories to join OneBC the same day.