New leader Lorne Doerkson is bringing his party’s focus back to affordability and health care ahead of the imminent provincial election
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B.C. Conservative Interim Leader Lorne Doerkson wasted no time in striking a different tone than his predecessor Kerry-Lynne Findlay following Tuesday’s election call, and some observers are saying it is all part of a plan to return the party to a focus on pocketbook issues.
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Peter Milobar, who until Tuesday was the leader of CentreBC before rejoining the Conservatives, said he has known Doerkson for a long time and the party’s new tone is completely different from what was offered to the public under Findlay.
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“You always have to modernize with the times, but if you look at what public sentiment is, if you look at what people want the government to be focused on, it is affordability, it is cost of living, it is housing, it is health care,” said Milobar.
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“Those are far and away the biggest issues because of the disaster that the NDP over the last nine years have created in all of those areas.”
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At the same time, Milobar said, there is still room to take action on other issues that members of the base care about, such as repealing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
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The act, passed unanimously in 2019, has been a flashpoint for voters concerned about the impact it could have on provincial laws. Last December, the B.C. Court of Appeals shot down the province’s Mineral Tenure Act over a lack of consultation provisions.
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“You can repeal DRIPA and not be anti-Indigenous,” said Milobar.
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“It is a failed piece of legislation that’s not doing what was it was intended to do, and so that would be a prime example. So sometimes it’s around the language that’s used, and I think Lorne will really rally people around his communication.”
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Angelo Isidorou, former B.C. Conservative executive director, said he believes the party can “walk and chew gum” in terms of political priorities but also believes the current election will primarily be about classic “kitchen table issues” such as affordability, housing and health care.
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Despite that, he said that cultural issues still matter and that DRIPA is unique as it is both cultural and economic in nature.
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“It’s cultural because it affects our constitutional rights, your private property rights, but it’s economic because it affects your safety and it affects your most important safety net, which is the value of your home,” said Isidorou.
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“I think all these issues are important. However, at this point in the race, it’s becoming very clear that this is a kitchen table election. This is an election that has to do with the economy, has to do with whether the quality of life is better now than it was four years ago or 10 years ago under the NDP. That is really the crux of it.”
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Katy Merrifield, former communications director for federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and a longtime B.C. Liberal strategist and staffer, has been brought in as campaign director for the B.C. Conservatives. Pollster Dimitri Pantazopoulos will serve as the deputy campaign director.
