British Columbians are largely centrist by nature: voting patterns for decades have favoured provincial parties and politicians who rejected extreme ideologies and policies on both the left and the right.
Former Liberal cabinet minister Mike Bernier took the leadership of the new political party CentreBC, formed in April, 2025, aimed at voters who don’t like the current NDP government or the BC Conservative Party.
“CentreBC is focused on the things that bring together so many British Columbians, that can bring together a broad coalition of builders and doers, rather than excluding anyone who does not pass a purity test,” the Vancouver Sun quoted Bernier on Friday. “This is what we are building.” (Read the full story here: https://vancouversun.com/news/former-cabinet-minister-mike-bernier-named-centrebc-leader-positioning-party-between-ndp-and-conservatives.)
The party’s pedigree, so far, reflects the BC Liberals/BC United DNA.
CentreBC was formed and led by Karin Kirkpatrick, the Liberal/United MLA for West Vancouver-Capilano, until she resigned the leadership in June.
Bernier represented Peace River South from 2013 to 2024, as a B.C. Liberal, which then became B.C. United. He served as as Education Minister, Parliamentary Secretary for Energy, Literacy and Environment and, in Opposition, was the Finance and Housing critic.
He told the media Premier David Eby and the NDP have mismanaged the economy, health care and the affordability issue; and Kerry-Lynne Findlay has moved the BC Conservatives too far to the right.
“Bernier says he’s already getting phone calls from former B.C. Liberals, as well as current and former NDP and Conservative MLAs,” the CBC reported.
This should stir up BC politics even more!
On one hand, there is the traditional view that splitting the “free enterprise” vote could help the NDP retain power; on the other, there are already signs that Findlay’s policies/leanings may be too far right for most BC voters.
“Findlay hires far-right activist who promoted mass deportations of people based on ancestry: NDP” read the headline in the Indo-Canadian Voice last week. (Full story here: https://voiceonline.com/findlay-hires-far-right-activist-who-promoted-mass-deportations-of-people-based-on-ancestry-ndp/)
“B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay has hired former Juno News Editor Cosmin Dzsurdzsa as Director of Communications, despite the outlet’s record of promoting racist voices that have targeted South Asian Canadians, the BC NDP said on Wednesday,” the newspaper reported.
“Findlay’s first caucus shuffle rewards loyalty over unity,” read the headline in Business in Vancouver late last month. (Full story here: https://www.biv.com/news/commentary/rob-shaw-findlays-first-caucus-shuffle-rewards-loyalty-over-unity-12491916).
“Findlay narrowly won the May 30 leadership race with just 51 per cent of the vote on the fourth ballot. She could have tried to reconcile that narrow victory by elevating a few prominent supporters of rival candidates, particularly Milobar himself, and signal there was room for everybody inside the new leadership team,” wrote veteran political reporter/observer Rob Shaw.
My own observation: Where is she? Findlay became leader May 30: she should already be out there, meeting voters, holding press conferences, capturing headlines and pressing British Columbians’ buttons almost every day on the economy, health care, crime etc. … getting voters on her side.
When Mark Carney became Liberal Leader in March 2025, he had Canadians on his side within DAYS, denouncing the US as “no longer being a reliable partner”, saying “The old relationship we had with the US is over” , and “President Trump is trying to break us, so he can own us.”
Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives, who had led ALL polls until then, crashed and burned with the voters almost instantly!
Where is Findlay?
Meanwhile, CentreBC’s challenge will be establishing policies that appeal to the majority of voters, and finding candidates who do, indeed, bring together middle of the road free-enterprise voters, disgruntled NDP supporters and BC Conservatives who doubt the party, under Findlay, will be “centrist” enough to defeat Eby and his government.
Harv Oberfeld
🇨🇦🇨🇦More than ever … check the labels. BUY CANADIAN!🇨🇦🇨🇦
(Follow @harveyoberfeld on “X” for FREE First Alerts to new postings on this BC Blog.)
What a sorry state.
Those who are interested, like Gilbert, vote to get rid of the ruling party; provincially, federally, it’s the same thing. Those who are not interested, vote for the flavor of the month or not at all.
In recent decades, we’ve had two decent leaders with public appeal; Horgan and Carney, and for years they both said they didn’t want the job.
Now we get repeat rejects, switching parties, reinventing themselves or their party, trying anything to get the pension and the party members keep putting duds on the stage; Dix, Smith, Poilievre, Starmer, Netanyahu, Trump.
We get what we ask for and at this rate, we may yet see the names Falcon, (Mz) Clark, Bowes, Watts and Heed resurface.
Good grief Harvey, your old pal Bill Vander Zalm could show up with a shovel and get good traction.
What a sorry state.
(Response: Where is WAC Bennett when we need him!!! Really need him. Remember how rich BC was, how investment/development/ jobs poured in .. and DRIPA would not ever have been suggested, let alone passed into law … unanimously in the Legislature! Good grief! Now, so many want change, and yet, the potential alternatives are so uninspiring (so far) that I was able to write a blog a few weeks ago that if the NDP got rid of Eby, they could actually have another shot at power, despite their record on the economy, affordability , health care, public safety! Yikes! And yet, I suspect neither of us would want to live anywhere else. Hang in there … and hope! Ho)
Haha, Wacky Bennett, good one.
Harvey, you should toss your fedora in the ring. You could run the province from your pool deck in Florida and do a better job.
(Response: Pool deck? When did I get a pool … let alone a deck to go with it! Ho)
As for Horgan, nada. History will soon tarnish his image.
Here is the problem, we live in a democracy. The two main parties in BC today have gamed that democracy, leaving the voter all but powerless. The voter loses interest and doe not vote, which in turn lessen the pool of voters, which is easily manipulated by BC’s yellow media, otherwise known as FOX Entertainment North.
So now comes a third party, which is really the old first party rebranded and then imploding under the mismanagement of a former cabinet minister.
One doesn’t need to be a 10 here, merely a 3 in politics because the Eby and Findlay are 1’s.
I would wager a lot of people holding their noses a voting for the NDP or Conservatives, will instead hold their noses and vote for the third party, which was once the first party.
CentreBC is an option ….have no use for Findlay … or the NDP…so just maybe ….
(Response: I suspect many BC voters see it the way you do. A lot will depend on their policies and candidates. Ho)
We don’t need a meaningless party in the centre. We need one party to defeat the socialists. A divided opposition is good for the NDP. Mr. Bernier was not an outstanding cabinet minister, and he is not the answer.
(Response: The problem may be Kerry-Lynne Findlay. I mentioned in the blog. I am kind of wondering where she has been since she became leader: I haven’t really seen or heard much of her at all, which is very strange for a new party leader, who is barely known by the people of BC. Then on Sunday, on Global TV I saw a perfect story for the new Opposition leader, more problems with closed emergency rooms… and the minister was refusing to comment, but where was the Leader of the Opposition??? It was a perfect setup for her, but she wasn’t there commenting either. Ridiculous! Then, on Monday Mike Smyth’s CKNW show he mentioned that he had been trying for weeks to get her on the show, but she had refused. That’s no way to get known or win over the people of BC! So Findlay could make things easier for CentreBC to emerge as “the” alternative to the NDP. Ho)
We need a third party that might put some good ole punch into our politics and hopefully kick some ass to dumb and dumber NDP and Conservative flakes in now. As far as the Green Party is concerned, I have know idea who they are anymore. They don’t even register on the meter as a third party. Just the wishy washy meter. So we need this to kick up some trouble the self serving wing nuts occupying Parliament. It is of course to earlier to even speculate on what course this new bunch will take. I’ll have an open mind just as they keep that squeaky annoying endlessy pain in the ass blabbermouth Falcon away from our main politics.
(Response: Yes, the challenge for the new party will be to make it not look and sound like the old BC Liberal party… and one way to do that is to steer away from some of the old liberal stalwarts… Who evoke negative opinions for many electors. I do believe that BC is ready for a new centrist alternative to the NDP… Not too far right, although splitting that free enterprise vote could present a problem. Ho)
Go Socreds
BVZ style
(Response: Too early to tell! Ho)
This is both Eby’s and Findlay’s worst nightmares as both campaign on dated platforms, rendered useless by the Trumpian Empire down south.
Both the NDP and the Conservatives are more worried about social engineering, than the economy; both political parties are wedded to dated ideas and remain blind to the new realities.
A centre party was desperately needed and as always, a politcal vacuum, always get filled.
The problem for Bernier is to find fresh new candidates to run in the next election, because if their slate has the remains of dated and discredited former BC Liberal/United candidates, they will will implade at the polls. And for gawd sakes, do not let Kevin Falcon of Christy Clark anywhere near this new party because they are tainted “old school”, pay to play style or politcans, which we all seem to hate.
With the new centrist party, will hopefully come new ideas because the current stale agenda’s of both the NDP and the Conservatives no longer resonate with the electorate.
(Response: If Bernier is smart, he’ll avoid linking CentreBC to people like Gordon Campbell, Christy Clark, Kevin Falcon etc. They are beyond the “Best” dates, to put it mildly. And then there’s the platform: on the economy, health care, crime, drugs, social issues. Can’t wait to see it all fleshed out. Ho)
You nailed it. If this is going to work it has to be fresh. It already feels like BC Liberals 3.0
(Response: I have not seen enough yet that makes me conclude that they are the same as the old BC Liberal party. I sure hope not! Ho)
Actually, Campbell’s hijacking of the Liberal party was in name only, as Campbell and his acolytes were nothing more “Pay to Play” pre Trumpian Trump/MAGA party, as is the Maple MAGA Conservative Party of BC.
We need a truly centrist party or BC will dissolve into open social/class warfare.