Western Standard - BC Conservatives Leadership Election

00:00:00.000 alex here with the western standard we are in beautiful vancouver british columbia today

00:00:26.800 it is saturday may 30th and it is the final stretch of the dc conservative leadership race

00:00:32.560 this has been a marathon i believe this race has been going on since january which is

00:00:36.960 pretty insane considering this longer than we take to find the next prime minister of canada

00:00:41.920 it's been an interesting race there are five candidates left and it is anybody's race at

00:00:47.120 this point we have peter millibard he is the only sitting mla and the current finance critic for the

00:00:53.920 bc conservatives we have yuri fulmer an entrepreneur we have oh there's a lot of

00:01:00.160 candidates carrie lynn finley uh she's considered the grassroots candidate former member of parliament

00:01:04.800 caroline elliott former vice president of the bc liberal party now depart and somebody else who's

00:01:10.880 the other one who am i missing billabar fulmer finley elliott and ian black of course ian black

00:01:19.280 former BC Liberal in LA as well. Again, a lot of candidates. It's anybody's race. This has been a

00:01:26.000 long one and I am looking forward to it coming to an end. It is bittersweet. It has been a joy and a

00:01:31.760 pleasure to cover this event and I am very much looking forward to finding out who the next BC

00:01:36.240 Conservative leadership, next BC Conservative leader is going to be and potentially the next

00:01:42.160 Premier of the province.

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00:13:49.280 Okay.

00:14:01.060 Okay.

00:14:02.200 Yep, it's not snap.

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00:17:19.280 We'll be right back.

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00:19:19.280 Oneabbling.

00:19:26.320 One stop!

00:19:28.480 It's driving you real quick!

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00:29:49.280 excellent so this is alex here at the bc conservative leadership convention

00:30:11.280 it's a ranked ballot did you rank all of the candidates no i only ranked

00:30:15.680 I posted my thoughts online on Twitter, so my first voice was, of course, I really like her, she's

00:30:24.960 Federalist, she was in the Tea Department's campaign, and her track record, everything just 0.96

00:30:32.320 gives me the, it just discouraged my vote for her. I've been to her rally all the time,

00:30:39.040 time one time and on my second on my second is jerry fulmer i like uh i like that he uh took

00:30:46.320 his accountability for his sake and he's so honest about it so that really that really hurt my vote

00:30:52.800 if you don't mind me asking why did you uh leave the other three candidates

00:30:58.080 i just felt like uh

00:31:09.040 If one of the other three candidates that you did not rank win, please, he'll be a loyal member of the party.

00:31:15.060 We'll see.

00:31:15.720 If it's Caroline Elliott, I might have some jeopardy of them because of how it campaigned.

00:31:21.960 But yeah, obviously, I'll stick around for a second.

00:31:26.320 Excellent.

00:31:26.900 Do you think if there's an election, either on a fixed election day or a snap election before the fixed election day, do you think David Eby will be running against the next conservative leader?

00:31:37.720 Or do you think he will?

00:31:39.040 For me personally, I hope he does, because that gives us an easier target.

00:31:45.060 I don't want him to resign and end up like what Mark Carney did.

00:31:48.360 For example, Justin Tudor resigned, and then Mark Carney came in.

00:31:51.540 Nobody really knew who Mark Carney was, so they all gave him a call.

00:31:57.680 If they were going to pick a different leader, who do you think the NDP might go for?

00:32:01.500 Honestly, I'm not sure.

00:32:03.100 To be honest, I don't follow that much into the NDP, but we'll take that.

00:32:07.040 Well, thank you for taking the time and good luck tonight.

00:32:11.040 Oh, it's my pleasure.

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01:02:37.040 May I have your attention, please?

01:03:00.040 Ladies and gentlemen, will you please join me?

01:03:03.140 ladies and gentlemen will you please join me ladies and gentlemen will you please

01:03:33.140 Thank you.

01:04:03.140 And glorious and free, O Canada, we stand on guard for Thee.

01:04:25.280 O Canada, we stand on guard for Thee.

01:04:44.680 Now, to officially kick off tonight's program, please join me in welcoming the President of the Conservative Party of British Columbia, Asha Esty.

01:04:55.280 good evening everyone and welcome tonight the battle for the leadership comes to an end i'm

01:05:08.400 wearing all white because i'm the proverbial white flag we're done with the fight and we got to be

01:05:13.000 nice to each other now as we enter a new chapter unified around a new leader following the most

01:05:20.540 to secure leadership race this province,

01:05:23.920 and I would bet even this country has ever seen.

01:05:34.620 My name is Aisha Esty and as president

01:05:36.960 of the Conservative Party of British Columbia,

01:05:39.040 it is my honor to welcome you to what is without question

01:05:42.540 one of the most significant evenings

01:05:44.740 in the party's recent history.

01:05:46.820 As I look around this room, it's incredible to see so many members that have joined us

01:05:54.800 here tonight.

01:05:56.900 And if you weren't able to attend in person, thank you very much for joining us online.

01:06:01.260 To all the volunteers and donors, I want to thank you for your dedication.

01:06:06.840 Every single one of you have contributed so much to build the moment we are about to

01:06:11.420 share a leadership race is by its nature a very competitive contest finding a way to differentiate

01:06:28.700 yourself within a party is difficult it is supposed to test ideas test character and test

01:06:36.620 our movement and ours did all three but a leadership race is also the beginning

01:06:44.620 the moment the result is announced the contest ends and the work of building a government in

01:06:50.780 waiting continues that is the door we walk through tonight and we walk through it together 0.89

01:06:58.780 not as factions and not as camps but as one party who will defeat the ndp

01:07:05.020 and bring prosperity and optimism back to this beautiful province of ours.

01:07:14.760 Before we go any further, I do want to recognize the leadership contestants themselves.

01:07:20.660 Running for the leadership of a political party is one of the hardest things a person can choose to do.

01:07:26.460 It asks everything of you.

01:07:28.740 Your time, your family, your privacy, your patience.

01:07:32.920 It takes courage to put your name forward, and it takes character to run a campaign with integrity.

01:07:39.640 You all are truly in the arena, and we deeply appreciate the work you've done to grow our party and offer your own vision to our membership.

01:07:50.660 And because of our contestants, because of the energy they brought, because of the conversations they started in living rooms and in coffee shops and in pubs and restaurants across this province,

01:08:02.120 our party now has more than 42,000 members now none of what you see here

01:08:15.500 tonight the venue the staging the hospitality happens though the

01:08:19.560 generosity of our advertisers stepping up to make this incredible evening

01:08:23.500 possible so I want to take a moment to recognize each of them there are a lot

01:08:28.960 thank you to our fundraising extraordinaire Jackie Prokopenko. So bear with me as I read

01:08:38.620 through their names. We've got Capilano Suspension Bridge, Neighborhood Holdings,

01:08:42.460 Creasy Development Corporation, Oak Bridge Advisory, Fixman Auto Glass, Pink Solutions,

01:08:48.720 Gastown Printing, Predator Ridge Limited Partnership, Guildford Capital Corporation,

01:08:55.120 Riverhouse Marina, Sell Home, Hall Construction, ICBA, Strand Management Corporation and Strand

01:09:04.120 Project Advisors, Insurance Bureau of Canada, Kipco Investment, the Kingwood Group of Companies,

01:09:12.120 Wall Financial Corporation, La Puevedine Group, McDonald Development Corporation. I'm almost

01:09:18.020 there hang with me west build holdings limited mckyver capital management westwood ridge property

01:09:25.860 management mosaic and william donnellan pubs thank you to our advertisers tonight

01:09:35.140 your support tonight isn't just about an event it's a vote of confidence and where this party

01:09:39.540 is going and we are deeply grateful so here is where we are british columbia is watching

01:09:47.300 and what they are about to see is a conservative party that is bigger stronger and more united than

01:09:53.540 it has been in a generation let's get this evening started we are kicking things off

01:10:00.500 with a video in thanks to our incredible interim leader trevor halford thank you very much

01:10:16.740 I want to really bring stability to our caucus and our party, and the second is, I want to

01:10:29.840 hand it off to the next person in better condition than when I found it.

01:10:33.060 the bc ndp is free falling the party trails the bc conservatives by 10 points trevor just wanted

01:10:47.800 to uh thank you a ton for your hard work and leadership uh the last number of months trevor

01:10:54.020 is a stand-up guy we've been through a lot in the last six months trevor brought us together at a

01:10:59.600 time where there was angst and there were divisions. He just put his head down and just said,

01:11:04.480 look, we've got work to do. Let's just do the work. You've led our caucus with strength,

01:11:08.820 with humility, and a remarkable ability to bring us all together. Every decision that you made

01:11:15.460 helped us to grow closer as a group and get closer to the goals that we all want to accomplish

01:11:22.020 together you did a fabulous job and as always your graciousness came through to all of us i

01:11:30.180 appreciate everything you've done when i reached out to you you've always been there to answer a

01:11:33.860 phone call a text or an email everybody respects you i certainly do you've been a great wealth of

01:11:40.500 experience and information for all of us what most people don't know about trevor is that he's

01:11:45.540 wickedly funny and I'm really enjoying hearing him chiding the NDP in the front row there in

01:11:52.260 the Legislative Assembly. It's been an amazing, amazing session with you, thank you. I look forward

01:11:57.940 to many more years working alongside you. And I appreciate your leadership, I appreciate your

01:12:05.620 counsel and your friendship and I just wanted to say a job well done sir. And I want to congratulate

01:12:12.580 The history of our party will look back and see you as a really important part of taking us into a government in waiting and ultimately into a new conservative government for the people of British Columbia.

01:12:27.500 You have a lot to be proud of, my friend.

01:12:29.380 You have elevated the party to the point where everyone knows we are a government in waiting.

01:12:36.840 You do not have to have a title to lead. 0.95

01:12:40.420 everybody can be a leader and find ways to lead and i can tell you this that as soon as this race

01:12:45.460 is over i will find ways to support whoever wins and make sure that our party is in the

01:12:50.260 best spot possible and i give you my word on that as we continue tonight's program please welcome

01:13:04.500 Holly Halford to introduce her husband and our interim leader, Trevor Halford.

01:13:25.700 Wow, what an exciting night for the province of British Columbia and our party. For those of you

01:13:33.380 who don't know me I'm Holly Helford and what an opportunity it is tonight to be

01:13:39.680 on this side of the microphone much of Trevor's inspiration for public service

01:13:48.680 came from his grandparents Walter and Beverly Walter was an engineer for the

01:13:55.660 province of British Columbia he helped build the very highways and bridges that

01:14:02.480 brought you here tonight. In many ways interim leadership is about building

01:14:09.200 bridges. His grandmother Beverly was his biggest supporter and according to

01:14:17.800 family legend she may have helped him complete a few assignments when he was a

01:14:23.420 young student at Trinity Western. Trevor and I first met in 2005 as young

01:14:30.380 staffers in the BC Legislature.

01:14:33.320 And even then, I knew one day his passion for British Columbia would lead him to a larger

01:14:40.820 role in the public service.

01:14:44.080 Over the past few months, we have seen what leadership during transition truly looks like.

01:14:49.700 I learned leadership isn't about holding a position permanently, it's about stepping

01:14:55.940 up when it matters most, being effective, and helping build a bridge to what comes next.

01:15:04.500 Trevor, our Conservative MLAs and exceptional staff team helped guide this party forward

01:15:13.700 with commitment, integrity, and heart. Always focused on building a stronger future for families

01:15:21.140 across british columbia including our own children nicholas ben and alexandra

01:15:28.820 so tonight as we prepare to welcome the next leader of the bc conservative party

01:15:34.820 Please join me in welcoming my husband and your interim leader, Trevor Halpert.

01:16:04.820 thank you for that

01:16:15.180 thank you thank you holly it is actually people don't know this we're actually here

01:16:23.100 to celebrate holly's birthday it's her birthday today uh so happy

01:16:26.620 it's it's her it's her surprise this is her surprise 30th so uh so thank you holly and uh

01:16:37.160 i want to thank ben nick and sasha it's been a journey dad hasn't been home as much as he should

01:16:42.140 be um but i'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow so i want to say thank you thank you

01:16:48.420 for all of that. Good evening, British Columbians. Good evening, BC Conservatives. I want you

01:16:57.720 to look around this room tonight. And not too long ago, our opponents were writing us

01:17:05.100 off. They said there was no path forward. And they said that our party was finished.

01:17:12.380 Well, I think we broke a few hearts.

01:17:16.620 To me, tonight, I can tell you, this party is just getting started.

01:17:33.080 Now, people can have leadership in their titles, and it can come and go,

01:17:39.700 and people can continue to choose to lead whether it's in their title or not

01:17:47.260 and there's somebody in this room that did that there is somebody in this room

01:17:53.980 and it's actually that person is a reason a lot of us are in this room

01:17:57.820 and he didn't step back he stepped forward and he put this party first and he put this province

01:18:07.920 first I want to thank my friend my colleague and this party owes a debt in

01:18:13.980 this province owes a debt of gratitude to our friend John Rustad

01:18:37.920 being the interim leader has been the privilege of my career it's been an honor to serve with

01:18:52.040 my colleagues and you know what i see somebody in the audience that might not have been here

01:18:56.020 tonight and i want to single him out because we are so lucky that he's been with us while

01:19:00.680 we were in victoria last week but he's here tonight he's had an incredible journey over

01:19:05.060 the past few months. Pete, we are so blessed to have you with us here tonight.

01:19:18.900 Now, when I accepted this responsibility, I made a promise to the party, I made a promise to the

01:19:26.020 caucus, and I made a promise to myself. And it was a promise that we would hand this off stronger

01:19:31.240 than when we found it. And tonight, I am proud to say, with the support of my colleagues

01:19:36.160 and our party, we have kept that promise. 40,000 members, the largest political party

01:19:43.180 in the history of the BC NDP. Sorry, it's larger than the BC NDP.

01:19:49.900 but but with that number with that number comes responsibility that is a volunteer waiting to be

01:20:04.040 asked a door knocker a donor and that shows that this is not a party in decline this is an army

01:20:12.060 being assembled and let me tell you this the nvp have taken notice they're nervous they're afraid

01:20:19.800 and they should be. Now, we have built this and we have built it together. And sometimes when it

01:20:29.040 would mean easier to walk away, we stood up and we fought. So before I say anything else tonight,

01:20:38.020 I want to say thank you. I want to say thank you to every volunteer, every member of our caucus,

01:20:44.900 Everyone that has worked the phone, knocked on a door, that has stepped up.

01:20:49.640 Thank you for our entire team.

01:20:51.580 Thank you so much.

01:21:00.020 Now, there's a couple other people I want to single out.

01:21:02.560 And this party was built by a few, but now represents thousands.

01:21:09.420 and I want to thank somebody who's become a friend and it almost feels like

01:21:16.800 a brother and I know he's shouldered a lot over the last couple years and he's

01:21:22.000 got us to where we are tonight I want to thank my friend Angelo is a Doro

01:21:26.420 Angela job well done my friend and I also want to thank somebody who told me

01:21:38.420 know when I first asked and that is somebody who stepped up in a big way and

01:21:43.040 that is our chief of staff to our caucus Allie Blades. Allie thank you so

01:21:47.600 much. Now in August Allie is going to be moving on to much bigger and better

01:21:58.160 things because her husband will be welcoming a bundle of joy in August and

01:22:03.320 we wish you all the best as you take on that journey, Ali. Congratulations and we

01:22:08.700 appreciate you so much. Now I am confident because I know that whoever we elect

01:22:19.820 as our new leader tonight will be the next Premier of British Columbia.

01:22:27.160 Now, the only people that might not know that, that might come as a surprise, and I kind

01:22:39.120 of take a little bit of pride in that, is David Eby and the NDP caucus.

01:22:45.160 Listen, this Premier, this government have squandered every ounce of goodwill they were

01:22:52.520 forgiven. A $13 billion deficit, largest in our province's history, a tax hike on the lowest

01:22:59.500 income bracket, the people they claim to defend, a new PST on the small business owners who employ

01:23:06.540 our neighbors, and 40,000 jobs lost in two months. Shame. British Columbia is actually leading the

01:23:16.260 country in job losses. 60% of British Columbians say it's time for a change, and I think 100%

01:23:22.500 of this room would agree with that the next election is not a hill we will have

01:23:34.140 to climb it is a door that is opening in our job and your job starting tonight is

01:23:40.080 not only to walk right through it but kick it right down you know what because

01:23:50.700 this is not about us it's never been about us this is about the young couple

01:23:57.460 in Langford who did everything right and still can't afford to buy a home it's

01:24:04.620 about the senior in Kelowna that is having to choose between their

01:24:09.100 prescriptions and their rent it's a small business owner in Prince George

01:24:15.220 that has to close up shop because they just can't make ends meet anymore.

01:24:22.020 These are our people.

01:24:24.480 These are the British Columbians, the NDP forgot.

01:24:28.800 And these are the people that are waiting for us to win.

01:24:35.420 So let me say something tonight, not as your interim leader,

01:24:45.220 well for the next 20 minutes uh but as a member of this party this is the reality we have a premier

01:24:56.340 and a government out of touch and out of ideas a province starving for change and the only way we

01:25:04.500 lose this is important is if we beat ourselves very shortly members of this party will choose

01:25:13.860 our next leader every single one of them stepped up when it would have been

01:25:20.280 easier not to every single one of them deserves our respect tonight and our

01:25:27.920 respect tomorrow regardless of how you voted because when the results are read

01:25:33.980 I am going to stand behind whoever wins full stop no caveats no grudges no

01:25:41.200 looking back and I'm going to ask every single person in this room to do the

01:25:46.240 same if you came here tonight for your candidate thank you that's how it's

01:26:01.260 supposed to work but we came here as conservatives we're gonna leave here as

01:26:06.540 conservatives and we will leave here unified stronger than we ever have before because the

01:26:13.980 only thing the nep fears more than a strong conservative leader is a unified conservative

01:26:19.820 party of bc and we're going to give them that unity right here tonight

01:26:24.860 so ladies and gentlemen I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart I

01:26:39.380 want to thank my family I want to thank my caucus I want to thank British

01:26:46.160 Columbians but I want to thank the candidates who have put their lives on

01:26:50.980 hold and their families who had shoulder that burden when they were away from their homes

01:26:57.380 and i can tell you this and i'll say it again because it's worth repeating

01:27:03.380 whoever steps on this stage tonight will be the next premier of this province

01:27:08.900 and we in this room to a person will make sure that we do everything possible to make

01:27:14.740 that happen because because british columbia is depending on it i want to say thank you

01:27:23.860 i appreciate you i love you and let's get this party started thank you so much guys

01:27:29.940 I look forward to tonight. Thank you.

01:27:49.300 Thank you, Trevor. Next, we'll hear from the Chair of the Leadership Election Organizing Committee.

01:27:55.220 Please welcome Scott Lamb.

01:27:59.940 Thank you, folks. Thank you, fellow Conservatives. It's been an honor to serve as the chair of the Leadership Election Organizing Committee, as we affectionately call LEOC, to elect the next leader of the B.C. Conservative Party.

01:28:15.360 As they say, this isn't my first rodeo. As president of the Conservative Party of Canada for five years, I oversaw and participated as a member in two LEOCs for the federal leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada.

01:28:28.120 In that role, I served with many great Conservatives across Canada.

01:28:33.820 So when I was asked to chair the BC Conservative Party, LIOC,

01:28:38.400 I was happy to gather together great Conservatives

01:28:41.560 who had a depth of experience and great talent to serve on LIOC.

01:28:46.780 So I want to have a great thank you to go out to Don Nightingale,

01:28:52.460 Gavin Marshall, Ali Blades, Claire Ratti, Sharon White,

01:28:57.640 and Asha SD.

01:29:06.120 Folks, these people on LIOC put in countless hours over the past five months,

01:29:12.380 creating the rules, administering and guiding the process to a very successful conclusion.

01:29:19.660 I also want to thank the staff who essentially put their lives on hold

01:29:23.900 for what seems to be a 24-7 schedule over these past five months.

01:29:29.140 So thank you to Angelo Isidoro, the Executive Director of the party,

01:29:33.880 Mark Jacka, the Director of the Leadership Election,

01:29:37.200 Sasha Peter, the Returning Officer,

01:29:39.920 and Phil and Jackie, I know you're out there,

01:29:41.980 and all the rest of the team.

01:29:43.340 Thank you very much.

01:29:50.300 And every good organization needs a good lawyer.

01:29:53.900 and we were lucky to have Bruce Halzer, King's counsel, as our legal counsel.

01:29:59.020 Thank you, Bruce.

01:30:02.940 So it's important to look to where we started from the beginning of this process

01:30:07.400 and the search for a new leader.

01:30:10.420 At the time I first reported to the interim leader in our caucus of MLAs

01:30:14.920 at the commencement of this leadership race in January,

01:30:18.360 the party was in debt, had just under 7,000 members,

01:30:22.800 and had little if no fundraising and was down in the polls to the NDP.

01:30:30.060 This leadership race was designed to address this and build this party to take on the NDP.

01:30:38.080 Now, this leadership election process was not easy for the candidates,

01:30:42.500 and it was designed that way, to test the candidates, to raise significant sums of money,

01:30:49.900 develop and execute on a message that would resonate with Conservatives

01:30:53.520 and mobilize people to become members of our party

01:30:56.460 and demonstrate the ability to get those people out and vote.

01:31:02.920 In short, as a candidate, you had to show leadership

01:31:06.320 and build an effective campaign team and message,

01:31:11.220 much as you would in a general election to defeat the NDP.

01:31:15.540 I will also say this about this leadership race.

01:31:20.720 It was designed to ensure the integrity of the voting process and to ensure we had the cleanest leadership vote in B.C. political history.

01:31:36.440 Now, you may all ask, how did all that turn out?

01:31:39.460 Well, as of tonight, and you've heard it before, but it's worth repeating, the party has grown over six times its size to 42,000 members, the largest political party in British Columbia.

01:31:53.580 and I'd say take note of that David Eby and the NDP the party has paid off its

01:32:03.420 campaign debt from the last election over one and a half years early take

01:32:09.600 note of that David Eby and the NDP and the party has run this leadership

01:32:17.520 election without taking on any debt and put money in the bank you know what

01:32:23.520 conservatives how to know to do something without incurring debt the

01:32:34.760 party now has millions in the bank and we're building our party an election

01:32:39.000 machine to defeat the NDP in the next election so take note of that David Eby

01:32:43.960 the NDP. And now the party is the most popular party in BC. Recent polls have us 10 points up

01:32:51.320 on the NDP. And again, David Eby, take note of that in the NDP. Your days are numbered.

01:33:05.800 This Conservative Party, this caucus and the new leader is going to rescue this province from the

01:33:12.280 disastrous years of the ndp and bring hope back to british columbians

01:33:22.120 thank you for allowing me to be the chair of this leadership race

01:33:25.960 and now i'd like to turn this over to stasha peter our returning officer for

01:33:30.360 the leadership election to provide his report and to introduce our auditors for this election

01:33:36.680 Thank you, folks.

01:33:47.580 Good evening.

01:33:49.240 My name is Sasha Peter, and I'm a chartered professional accountant,

01:33:52.820 and I've been serving the party in many capacities since I joined four years ago

01:33:57.280 and currently a director at large on the provincial board.

01:34:01.260 And pursuant to Article 12.07 of the Constitution and Bylaws,

01:34:05.880 the board appointed me as returning officer to oversee the leadership election.

01:34:11.020 Now, I know all of you are here for the results of the election,

01:34:15.440 and I want to emphasize that nobody has seen the results yet.

01:34:19.420 They are locked, and until the simply voting representative clicks the unlock button,

01:34:24.440 this access is logged and audited.

01:34:27.480 So this will be the first time that your votes cast in a secret ballot will be tabulated.

01:34:33.460 We will do this with scrutineers of the leadership contestants, auditors, and staff present.

01:34:40.480 Now, the role of the returning officer demands strict neutrality, and I've administered this election without favor to any leadership contestant.

01:34:51.740 I am a member of this party and eligible to vote in this race. I chose not to.

01:34:56.940 The person who certifies the result should have no stake in its outcome, so I did not cast a ballot.

01:35:03.460 So, that's the statutory part. Now, we're going to do the fun part here. Numbers. So, I'm a CPA. I'm very interested in numbers. So, I'm just going to give out a few here.

01:35:15.400 Okay. 41,718 members were eligible to verify their identity as of the April 18th, 5 p.m. cutoff. 26,273 electors verified their identity by producing documents before the May 20th, 1159 p.m. deadline.

01:35:38.440 About two-thirds of you were verified without human review, while about 9,000 of you were adjudicated manually in the presence of scrutineers of the leadership contestants.

01:35:50.060 Now, I want a bit of audience participation here, so pay attention.

01:35:55.260 Okay, instead of me giving out numbers, I want you to give out a number, and this one is simple, I promise.

01:36:00.520 Four years ago, four years ago, the governing party of this province, the BC NDP, they ran

01:36:07.160 a leadership race to choose a premier. Now, what is your best guess? How many of their members got

01:36:14.600 to cast a ballot in this race? Shout it out. Zero. That's right. That's right. Premier David

01:36:21.800 Eby was acclaimed after his sole rival was disqualified. Not a single NDP member cast

01:36:28.520 vote. Now look around you, around this room, 25,695 of you, nearly 98% of every

01:36:40.040 member who completed verification cast their ballot in this election. That is

01:36:44.700 participation. Give yourself a hand.

01:36:48.800 Finally, British Columbia has 93 electoral districts.

01:36:59.360 Each electoral district is weighted at 100 points, except for those districts that have

01:37:04.920 received less than 100 ballots.

01:37:07.360 There were five of them that had less than 100 ballots cast, so there are 9,211 points

01:37:15.640 available across the province and so therefore a leadership contestant needs more than half

01:37:21.080 of these or greater than 4605.5 votes to be elected leader of this party 4605.5 now finally

01:37:33.080 i want to talk about the importance of trust and integrity in elections now when the leadership

01:37:39.160 organizing committee adopted the rules they set out in writing what a valid membership in this

01:37:44.360 party looks like and before any member could vote they had to verify their identity against

01:37:49.560 government issued id now holding those standards was not simple it required reconciling payment

01:37:56.680 records against memberships and enforcing our identity verification processes this was at a

01:38:03.000 level of extraordinary discipline and i do not believe that this has ever been applied to any

01:38:08.600 provincial leadership election in british columbia before this one especially at this scale

01:38:14.280 we did the work because we owed it to the members to the leadership contestants who entered this

01:38:19.560 race on the understanding that the rules would mean what they say and to this party who deserves

01:38:25.720 a leader chosen by a process whose integrity is not in question in the next general election

01:38:33.800 we will ask the people of BC for their trust to govern our great province. Before we can do that,

01:38:40.600 we must demonstrate to the province that we can conduct our internal affairs in a manner with

01:38:45.880 integrity and where people can place trust in our own internal processes. Without a doubt,

01:38:52.760 I believe we have achieved that during this leadership election. Now, my last note is for

01:38:58.920 those members who for whatever reason did not cast a ballot in this election.

01:39:05.480 Your membership in this party is no less valued today than it was yesterday. A leadership race is

01:39:11.480 one moment in the life of a political party. The work of building our party in your riding

01:39:17.320 association, in your communities, in the next general election goes on and there is a place

01:39:22.440 in our party for every member with that thank you very much and i will hand over the floor

01:39:37.560 to our auditor sam kaketsis of our auditors crow mckay llc thank you very much everybody

01:39:52.440 good evening once again my name is sam kiketsis and i'm with chroma kai

01:40:03.160 lop our firm was engaged by the conservative party of mbc to conduct

01:40:08.600 various agreed upon procedures during this conservative party's leadership race to begin

01:40:14.360 with i would like to confirm that our team involved involved in this engagement has been

01:40:19.560 neutral and has remained neutral throughout the process our firm was engaged in this leadership

01:40:26.680 election process to perform agreed upon procedures on the various components and steps as laid out

01:40:33.640 by the party follow that the members needed to follow to gain ability to to vote in this

01:40:39.800 leadership race we performed these procedures covering the membership phase covering the

01:40:44.920 database that maintained the memberships we then perform procedures on the validation software

01:40:51.800 being the persona software that you might have seen and finally we perform procedures on the

01:40:56.280 simply voting platform that used for tab use for the entabulation during the course of our engagement

01:41:03.480 and within the scope of our our during the scope of our procedures we conducted excuse me um we

01:41:11.480 conducted stages so various stages along the process uh that the cutoff was april april 18th

01:41:18.520 2026 and from that moment on we we did verifications and the ultimate voting system

01:41:25.240 and under the direct supervision of the returning officer we also verified the algorithm that was

01:41:30.440 used for simply voting and provided expected results of the task of the test data set thank you

01:41:41.480 Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage MP Aaron Gunn.

01:41:57.480 All right, what a big night.

01:42:07.880 you all of you for having me here today. My name is Aaron Gunn. I am a Member of

01:42:14.180 Parliament for the newly held Conservative Riding of North Island

01:42:18.640 Powell River. You know so I know a little bit about turning parts of this

01:42:28.580 province from NDP orange to Conservative blue and first of all and I know these

01:42:34.660 can be a little bit controversial but i do believe it's important to start off by acknowledging that

01:42:40.180 we are gathered here today in the greatest province and the greatest country of the world

01:42:45.940 where history is about to be made where three men and three women are going to come together and

01:42:51.460 elect the next leader of the bc conservative party and the next premier of british columbia

01:42:57.300 and may i say not a moment too soon because under david eby and the ndp it has been one disaster

01:43:10.940 after another whether it's the cost of living crisis where young british colombians can't

01:43:16.360 afford homes in communities that they grew up in where the price of gas is now the most expensive

01:43:21.360 in all of North America, and where BC is the only province in the entire country to increase

01:43:28.040 income taxes in what we now know is a full-fledged recession. And they did all this while taking

01:43:35.520 a healthy surplus that they inherited and transforming it into the largest deficit in

01:43:41.360 the history of British Columbia. Ten long years, isn't that right? And what did we get

01:43:49.140 for all of this new spending right what did we get for all of this new debt we have a broken

01:43:53.460 health care system with with wait times that are longer now than ever before we have a shortage

01:43:59.620 of police and crown prosecutors to keep repeat violent offenders in prison where they belong

01:44:06.260 and we have an education system that is less focused on delivering excellence in reading

01:44:12.180 writing and math and more concerned about gender ideology and tearing it down our past it should

01:44:18.100 be up to parents to decide how to raise their kids not david eby and the ndp

01:44:28.900 and when it comes to protecting our kids when it comes to protecting the next generation of

01:44:33.700 british colombians we also need to end this insane ndp experiment of handing out free

01:44:40.180 drugs and calling it safe supply. You know, since the NDP came to power, more than 16,000 British

01:44:51.880 Colombians have died from drug overdoses. More than 16,000. And they say the definition of insanity

01:44:58.720 is to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result, right? So how about instead of

01:45:04.340 handing out free drugs, we get these, our fellow citizens, into treatment, we get them into

01:45:08.880 recovery and we return them to being healthy and productive members of our

01:45:12.720 society once again and to secure the futures of that next generation we also

01:45:22.260 need to bring back steady high-paying jobs to BC and that starts with actually

01:45:28.980 building things in this province again instead of using taxpayer money to

01:45:34.120 subsidize shipbuilding and communist China we should have built those ferries

01:45:38.200 right here in British Columbia, just like we should be building refineries and just 0.57

01:45:48.400 like we should be building pipelines instead of sending and selling our most valuable resource

01:45:53.620 at a discount to the United States.

01:45:56.800 And because we are now apparently naming massive resource projects after premiers that

01:46:04.500 oppose them in British Columbia. I think we name it the David Eby pipeline after we build it. What

01:46:09.360 do you guys think about that? But building a pipeline is just the first step in what has to

01:46:19.540 be many in ending the NDP's long crusade against our resource sector, their fight against the very

01:46:26.180 industries that built this province, forestry, mining, natural gas. We have enough resources

01:46:32.560 is right here in BC, we should be the wealthiest, one of the wealthiest jurisdictions in the

01:46:37.640 entire world. Instead, we have a government that seems intent on squandering them. But

01:46:44.460 we will never be able to unleash the potential of BC's economy before we address the

01:46:51.300 investment uncertainty created by DRIPA, UNDRIP, and subsequent judicial decisions.

01:46:57.500 When a citizen pays their taxes, follows the law, maintains their property, and still cannot be 100% sure that they own their own home, something has gone profoundly wrong.

01:47:11.960 Private property rights are not a luxury, not some sort of optional add-on to our society.

01:47:17.200 They are a fundamental human right, and they are quite literally the foundation on which Western civilization, capitalism, and our economy are built on.

01:47:27.500 And, you know, just a couple of weeks ago, when I was writing a speech I was set to deliver in the House of Commons,

01:47:39.420 I actually looked up the definition of reconciliation.

01:47:43.420 And you know what it is?

01:47:44.180 It's the act of causing two people or groups to become friendly again after a falling out or a disagreement or an argument.

01:47:52.540 In other words, bridging divides and moving forward together, right?

01:47:58.020 Well, that is the exact opposite of what the Liberals and NDP have managed to accomplish over the past 10 years,

01:48:04.560 driving a wedge between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians, playing identity politics,

01:48:10.620 and prioritizing virtue signaling and rhetoric over delivering real, tangible, and measurable results.

01:48:18.760 And you know, the NDP seems to think that you should be treated differently in this province,

01:48:25.760 depending on your gender or your ethnicity or your sexual orientation or when your ancestors first

01:48:32.800 arrived in british columbia but i have a radical new idea how about we just treat everybody equally

01:48:40.960 and with respect how does that sound instead now i have to say the last few years in bc politics

01:48:52.880 I've seen some truly remarkable changes, but I have never been more confident than the Conservative Party of BC's ability to take the lead and turn this province around than I am today.

01:49:05.460 And as some other speakers mentioned, I know we are wrapping up a very competitive and passionate leadership race, and that's a good thing.

01:49:13.340 And it can be very tempting, like in every facet of life, to play the armchair quarterback of social media and opine about how the party is run.

01:49:23.360 And that's OK. That's part of the process. That's totally healthy.

01:49:27.320 But we should not forget that there are people here who have devoted a huge chunk of their lives to quite literally resurrecting this party from the ashes,

01:49:37.400 to provide British Columbians, to provide all of us with a true conservative alternative here in B.C.,

01:49:44.620 who were there with me four years ago when we first set out on this unprecedented journey together.

01:49:51.120 And while there are much too many to all name,

01:49:54.160 I would like to specifically recognize the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice of a few good friends,

01:50:00.260 Asia Esty, Angelo Isidoro, Sasha Peter, and Harmon Bangu,

01:50:04.680 without whom this party and this movement would not exist today.

01:50:14.220 And I think I also, I think I have to speak for all of us

01:50:17.320 when I thank the incredible and the indomitable Trevor Hall

01:50:20.940 for being the best interim leader that the B.C. Conservative Party could have asked for, right?

01:50:30.720 So let us go forward today unified.

01:50:33.960 United as Conservatives to write the next chapter of this party and this great province.

01:50:39.860 To unite behind whoever is chosen to be the next party leader and the next Premier of British Columbia.

01:50:46.340 To renew our commitment to make life more affordable for British Columbians.

01:50:50.620 To bring back safe streets, fiscal sanity and good old-fashioned common sense.

01:50:56.000 To protect private property, to honour our past and unleash the power of BC's resource economy.

01:51:02.280 to fight, to always fight, friends, for what is true and what is right, not what is politically

01:51:08.580 correct, and let it be resolved for all of us in this room that we do what it takes,

01:51:13.180 no matter what, to keep this party conservative, to keep this party united, and come the next

01:51:19.580 election to defeat the NDP. Thank you, everybody.

01:51:32.280 Ladies and gentlemen, please stay tuned as we tabulate the first ballot results.

01:52:02.280 Thank you.

01:52:32.280 Thank you.

01:53:02.280 Thank you.

01:53:32.280 Thank you.

01:54:02.280 Thank you.

01:54:32.280 Thank you.

01:55:02.280 Thank you.

01:55:32.280 Thank you.

01:56:02.280 Thank you.

01:56:32.280 Thank you.

01:57:02.280 Thank you.

01:57:32.280 okay

01:57:56.040 okay

01:58:02.280 Thank you.

01:58:32.280 You've got to be the next one here.

01:58:39.280 Oh, I'm telling you.

01:59:02.280 Thank you.

01:59:32.280 Thank you.

02:00:02.280 Thank you.

02:00:32.280 okay

02:01:02.280 Thank you.

02:01:32.280 Thank you.

02:02:02.280 Thank you.

02:02:32.280 Thank you.

02:03:02.280 Thank you.

02:03:32.280 Thank you.

02:04:02.280 Thank you.

02:04:32.280 Thank you.

02:05:02.280 Thank you.

02:05:32.280 Thank you.

02:06:02.280 the moment we've all been waiting for has arrived please welcome angelo isadoru our

02:06:14.200 executive director who will present the results of the first ballot ladies and gentlemen who's

02:06:20.920 ready for some results come on you could do better than that who's ready for some results

02:06:28.600 all right so this is the moment we've been waiting for this is round one of our election

02:06:38.260 please take your seats

02:06:40.420 before we begin I want to note that these results will be available online including

02:06:51.800 writing by writing results after our event we will be publishing everything so without further

02:06:58.300 ado let's get right into it we're going to start from the lowest points to the highest points

02:07:11.580 to begin in fifth with 971.34 points equating to 10.5 percent peter millibar

02:07:28.300 in fourth one thousand one hundred and ninety three point two seven points

02:07:33.100 equating to thirteen percent yuri fulmer

02:07:40.860 in third with one thousand eight hundred and sixty five point eight two points

02:07:45.260 equating twenty percent point three ian black

02:07:48.060 In second place, equating to 2,374.14, otherwise 25.8%, Caroline Elliott.

02:08:01.260 Finally, in first with 2,806 points, .42, equating to 30.5%, Carrie Lynn Finley.

02:08:14.640 Seeing that no candidate has crossed the 50% threshold, Mr. Milibar has been eliminated

02:08:33.960 and a second round will be tabulated shortly.

02:08:36.640 Thank you so much.

02:08:44.640 Thank you.

02:09:14.640 Thank you.

02:09:44.640 Thank you.

02:10:14.640 Thank you.

02:10:44.640 Thank you.

02:11:14.640 Of course.

02:11:44.640 Thank you.

02:12:14.640 Thank you.

02:12:44.640 Thank you.

02:13:14.640 Thank you.

02:13:44.640 1

02:13:46.640 1

02:13:48.640 1

02:13:50.640 1

02:13:52.640 1

02:13:56.640 1

02:13:58.640 2

02:14:00.640 1

02:14:02.640 2

02:14:04.640 2

02:14:06.640 1

02:14:08.640 3

02:14:10.640 3

02:14:12.640 Thank you.

02:14:42.640 Ladies and gentlemen, our second ballot results.

02:15:12.640 Folks, please take your seats.

02:15:27.620 Folks, we have round two ready to go. 0.96

02:15:30.880 Let's jump right into it.

02:15:32.400 In fourth, with 1,282 points, 0.52, or 13.9%, Uri Fulmer.

02:15:49.400 In third, with 2,328.21 points, or 25.3%, Ian Black.

02:15:57.700 In second, with 2,638.72%, or points, excuse me, or 28.6%, Caroline Elliott.

02:16:14.320 In first, with 2,961.53 points, or 32.2%, Carrie Lynn Finley.

02:16:21.780 Seeing that no candidate has hit the 50% threshold, Mr. Fulmer will be eliminated and we will

02:16:34.000 proceed to a round three. Thank you very much.

02:17:04.000 .

02:17:17.200 Thank you.

02:17:47.200 Thank you.

02:18:17.200 Thank you.

02:18:47.200 Thank you.

02:19:17.200 Thank you.

02:19:47.200 Thank you.

02:20:17.200 Thank you.

02:20:47.200 Thank you.

02:21:17.200 so

02:21:36.880 all right

02:21:47.200 Thank you.

02:22:17.200 Thank you.

02:22:47.200 Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our executive director to the stage for the next round of results.

02:23:01.400 All right, folks. Time for round three.

02:23:05.820 Go ahead and take your seats.

02:23:07.120 In third, with 2,767.51 points, or exactly 30%, Ian Black.

02:23:27.680 In second, with 2,883.71 points, or 31.3%, Caroline Elliott.

02:23:37.120 In first, with 3,559.78, with 38.6 points, Kerri Lee Finley.

02:23:51.540 Seeing that no candidate has crossed the 50% threshold, there will be a next round.

02:23:57.160 Thank you very much.

02:24:07.120 Thank you.

02:24:37.120 Thank you.

02:25:07.120 Thank you.

02:25:37.120 Thank you.

02:26:07.120 Thank you.

02:26:37.120 Thank you.

02:27:07.120 Thank you.

02:27:37.120 Thank you.

02:28:07.120 Thank you.

02:28:37.120 Thank you.

02:29:07.120 Thank you.

02:29:37.120 Thank you.

02:30:07.120 Thank you.

02:30:37.120 Thank you.

02:31:07.120 Take your seat, folks.

02:31:37.120 My fellow conservatives, I have in my hand the winner of the race, and it doesn't get

02:31:57.200 any closer than this.

02:32:07.120 The individual in second place has 4,514 points, 49 percent.

02:32:16.800 The individual in first place has 4,696.51, 51 percent.

02:32:22.900 Ladies and gentlemen, your next leader and Premier of British Columbia, Carrie Lynn Finley.

02:32:36.120 Thank you.

02:33:06.120 oh

02:33:36.120 We'll be right back.

02:34:06.100 I'm going to be in here.

02:34:15.900 Bugs. 0.93

02:34:34.240 Woo!

02:34:34.960 Wow, well thank you, thank you, wow, what a night this has been, and what a journey

02:34:58.200 this has been.

02:34:59.840 I first want to thank all the other candidates who love British Columbia like I do, I know

02:35:05.680 that, so I want to thank each and every one of them for putting their names forward and

02:35:12.360 being part of the future of British Columbia.

02:35:15.900 Thank you, thank you to all of you.

02:35:26.540 You know, my small team of determined warriors has been led by my campaign manager, Chris

02:35:33.860 Dyson, and bolstered by so many MLAs who endorsed me and worked in their own communities.

02:35:45.760 Give yourself a hand, you MLAs who endorsed and supported me.

02:35:55.580 you've been inspiring. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are too, look, so many

02:36:04.420 people have helped in this, and you're too numerous right around the province to name, but you know

02:36:10.760 who you are, and I am forever grateful for your wisdom, your advice, and steadfast faith in our

02:36:19.180 vision for a BC that will bring prosperity and opportunity to all who

02:36:26.320 call it home that's us next I want to recognize my husband Brent Chapman now

02:36:45.340 Brent is the MLA for Surrey South but long before that and since he has been a

02:37:03.040 source of never-ending love and support to me so thank you Darden also here

02:37:11.020 tonight representing us are two of my four children there's hannah and her sons aiden and ronan

02:37:25.100 and donna and her baby ruth

02:37:30.940 that isn't it isn't just a chocolate bar it's a real person baby ruth and look family honoring

02:37:39.100 them protecting them loving them and encouraging them is the biggest part of my life and i love you

02:37:50.540 all we are a strong resilient clan and i know their brother and sister are watching tonight

02:38:00.940 along with their young children they're too young to understand all of this and really

02:38:06.220 um i get that but someday they will understand that their gg which is what they call me

02:38:14.960 stood up for them and the children to follow stood up to make our beautiful bc more affordable

02:38:22.640 more livable more safe and more prosperous i want the generations now and to come

02:38:30.020 to feel they can have a comfortable and happy life as British Columbians.

02:38:36.900 Isn't that what we all want?

02:38:38.840 Right?

02:38:42.680 So what am I fighting for?

02:38:44.760 I'm fighting for nothing less than the future of British Columbia, our way of life.

02:38:54.940 Mine is a grand vision of fundamental change.

02:38:59.180 Our homes, our individual rights, our properties are at stake.

02:39:04.880 We need hope and prosperity.

02:39:08.060 As Minister of National Revenue, I oversaw lower taxes, red tape cuts,

02:39:15.040 and a return to surplus from the worst recession since the 1930s.

02:39:20.680 We can do this in British Columbia.

02:39:23.500 Our province will become strong, good-paying jobs, modern infrastructure, resource wealth,

02:39:36.360 an opportunity that has been blocked by the NDP.

02:39:41.080 We can be a powerhouse in our nation, a powerhouse no longer denied by eastern and global elites,

02:39:49.140 predatory foreign nations, and our own constitution.

02:39:53.500 NDP radical ideology has devastated property rights, backroom side agreements, and the NDP's economic vandalism has to end.

02:40:06.060 A Finley government will negotiate in the open, will bring clarity and certainty because that is what unleashing our natural resources, attracting investment, keeping our professionals practicing without censorship and promoting freedom demands and will deliver.

02:40:29.940 British Columbians deserve this and we will no longer be seen as irrelevant in interprovincial

02:40:42.240 and international trade and commerce.

02:40:45.900 Make no mistake, I am fighting for our sovereignty, for our home.

02:40:55.420 I will unify and take the fight to grassroots British Columbians who have had enough of

02:41:02.500 being pushed around.

02:41:07.660 I am leading to take this province back, speaking up for all, finding solutions that last, where

02:41:15.760 hard work is respected, less government, more freedom, powerful Western alliances, dealing

02:41:24.300 effectively with the tough issues we face daily violent crime drugs chaos and disorder in our

02:41:31.740 neighborhoods right down the street here when we came in tonight it's all within our grasp

02:41:39.820 lower taxes safer streets and communities protecting our children and putting parents

02:41:46.380 and families as a priority clear policy commitments discipline messaging public safety taken seriously

02:41:55.820 again economic decisions that prioritize small business and when the time comes and i'm looking

02:42:04.540 at all the MLAs now. When the time comes, real campaign support for our excellent MLAs and

02:42:13.300 candidates. Does that sound exciting? It is. But I understand it's also work, serious work.

02:42:28.280 The Conservative Party of BC will stand together because we know that we can make a difference.

02:42:36.260 We can fight back and we can deliver real change.

02:42:40.880 We'll do it, all of us, together.

02:42:44.060 Tonight, in this amazing space, Rocky Mountaineer, don't you just love their name?

02:42:49.800 I love it.

02:42:51.140 I see passion and commitment.

02:42:53.680 I see people who are not prepared to give up on their communities.

02:42:57.360 I see people who believe that BC can still be a beacon of opportunity, functional, safe, affordable, and family-friendly.

02:43:08.620 With your help, we can turn that commitment into real change to bring common sense across British Columbia.

02:43:18.180 In our national anthem, we cry out to God to make our land glorious and free.

02:43:27.360 Free people making free choices and free speech in a free enterprise market economy where hard work is rewarded and we are not crushed by socialist overreach that wants to dictate literally what we think, what we believe, what we can say and who we associate with.

02:43:53.700 I'm asking you now to donate and volunteer volunteer some time to our win

02:44:03.700 faith family and freedom that's what it's all about and truly and I can't

02:44:14.000 wait to get started God bless British Columbia and God bless all of you

02:44:21.700 LLG, let's go!

02:44:28.700 Thank you. Thank you.

02:44:51.700 Thank you.

02:45:21.700 Can you take that and don't let anyone go?

02:45:51.700 Thank you.

02:46:21.700 Thank you.

02:46:51.700 Thank you.

02:47:21.700 Thank you.

02:47:51.700 Thank you.

02:48:21.700 Thank you.

02:48:51.700 Thank you.

02:49:21.700 Thank you.

02:49:51.700 Thank you.

02:50:21.700 Thank you.

02:50:51.700 Thank you.

02:51:21.700 Thank you.

02:51:51.700 Thank you.

02:52:21.700 Thank you.

02:52:51.700 Thank you.

02:53:21.700 Thank you.

02:53:51.700 I was here with the Western Standard.

02:54:21.140 The results are in.

02:54:22.740 Carrie Lynn Finley is the new leader of the D.C. Conservative Party.

02:54:27.100 It came down to the wire between her and Caroline Elliott. 0.55

02:54:30.000 That was the prediction a lot of folks had.

02:54:31.960 There was an enormous eruption of cheers and applause upon hearing that she would be the next leader.

02:54:36.620 Also some disappointment.

02:54:38.200 I'm going to be trying to get some interviews with some of the D.C. Conservative membership.

02:54:42.060 But it seems like the crowd was quite pleased and happy with the results.

02:54:45.680 So with that, signing off, Alex with the Western Standard.

02:54:51.140 Thank you.

Western Standard - May 31, 2026

BC Conservatives Leadership Election

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