Conservatives seek constitution change to let interim leader Lorne Doerkson become permanent premier

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Voters delivered the B.C. Conservatives a two-thirds majority government on Saturday, and party members say they will now need to meet a similar two-thirds threshold to amend the party constitution so interim leader Lorne Doerkson can remain as permanent leader if he becomes premier.

The party constitution prohibits an interim leader from seeking leadership in a subsequent ballot, according to the party’s constitutional framework described after the election was called. Any change would require the support of two-thirds of the party’s members.

In a statement issued after the election was called, the party’s board said that if Doerkson became premier, he would remain leader and that it would pursue “appropriate means” to “give effect to this intention.” The board added in a social media post dated Sept. 23 that “A premier chosen by British Columbians deserves the certainty of leading his party. This amendment will provide it.”

Conservatives celebrated the election-night win on Saturday, with Caroline Elliott saying Doerkson was the “right person” to lead the party to victory as “things were splintering.” Elliott said, “He’s earned it. He’s earned the trust of British Columbians. He has earned more votes in this general election than we could ever dream of in a leadership race, and so, for me, that’s mandate enough and I’ll support him for as long as he wants to stay on.”

Elliott, who lost to Kerry-Lynne Findlay by a few percentage points in the party leadership race, won the riding of West Vancouver-Capilano on Saturday. Findlay had quit days before the election was called.

Doerkson became the party’s interim leader just days before the snap election was called on Sept. 22 by outgoing New Democrat premier David Eby. The Conservatives’ victory ends nearly a decade of NDP government in the province.

Former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell said he supports Doerkson, calling him a “decent, honest, straightforward guy.” Campbell said he believes Doerkson “gets people to understand how good they are and where we can be” and that the province can be “a province of possibility and promise again.”

Political science associate professor Hamish Telford of the University of the Fraser Valley said the situation is complex, noting that many in the party’s base wanted to avoid any “taint” associated with the B.C. Liberals, and that the party is now positioning itself differently. Telford said it is unclear how the base will react to this direction change.

Before joining the Conservatives, Doerkson was elected in 2020 as a B.C. Liberal, which later became B.C. United, before jumping to the Conservatives prior to the 2024 provincial election. In 2024, he won the Cariboo-Chilcotin riding. In the 2020 election, the party received less than two per cent of the vote, but the collapse of BC United helped pave the way for the Conservatives’ rise to official Opposition status and then government after Saturday’s results.