2011 British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election

The 2011 British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election was prompted by Gordon Campbell's announcement on November 3, 2010, that he would be resigning as Premier of British Columbia and had asked the BC Liberal Party to hold a leadership convention "at the earliest possible date". The convention elected Christy Clark as the new leader of the party on February 26, 2011.

Status of the leadership until the convention
Upon announcing his resignation, Gordon Campbell did not state whether he would stay on as premier and party leader until a new leader was chosen, or whether an interim leader would fill this role. However, Campbell soon made it clear that he would be staying on until a new leader was elected. "A smooth and orderly transition doesn't mean you have two or three leaders in a period of two or three months. So I'll be premier until the party selects a new leader. The new leader will then be sworn in as premier, and there will be a smooth and orderly transition."

Voting rules
On November 13, 2010, the Provincial Executive of the BC Liberal Party voted unanimously to call an extraordinary convention to approve new rules for the Party's leadership vote process. The "preferential ballot system" recommended by the Provincial Executive gives each party member a vote and then adjusts the results according to a regionally-weighted point system to ensure that each riding association counts equally. The first candidate to receive more than 50% of the regionally-weighted points in province-wide round of voting would emerge as the next Leader of the BC Liberal Party. These recommendations were approved by two-thirds of delegates at an extraordinary convention held on February 12, 2011.

Declared candidates
The following candidates declared their intention to run for the leadership:

George Abbott
MLA for Shuswap (since 1996), Minister of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services (2001-04), Minister of Sustainable Resource Management (2004-05), Minister of Health (2005–09), Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation (2009–10), Minister of Education (2010).
 * Support from caucus members: Donna Barnett (Cariboo-Chilcotin), Murray Coell (Saanich North and the Islands), Eric Foster (Vernon-Monashee), Randy Hawes (Abbotsford-Mission), Kash Heed (Vancouver-Fraserview), Gordon Hogg (Surrey-White Rock), Kevin Krueger (Kamloops-South Thompson), Terry Lake (Kamloops-North Thompson), Richard Lee (Burnaby North), Norm Letnick (Kelowna-Lake Country), Mary McNeil (Vancouver-False Creek), Don McRae (Comox Valley), John Rustad (Nechako Lakes), Moira Stilwell (Vancouver-Langara), Ralph Sultan (West Vancouver-Capilano), John Slater (Boundary-Similkameen), Steve Thomson (Kelowna-Mission), Jane Thornthwaite (North Vancouver-Seymour) John van Dongen (Abbotsford South), Naomi Yamamoto (North Vancouver-Lonsdale)
 * Support from former caucus members: Bill Bennett (East Kootenay), Bill Belsey (North Coast), Tom Christensen (Okanagan-Vernon), Greg Halsey-Brandt (Richmond Centre), Harold Long (Powell River-Sunshine Coast), Sandy Santori (West Kootenay-Boundary), Ken Stewart (Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows), Katherine Whittred (North Vancouver-Lonsdale)
 * Date campaign launched: November 25, 2010
 * Policies: New tax credits for home renovations and health and wellness expenses and moving the HST referendum to an earlier date, holding a referendum on whether to freeze the carbon tax, hold public consultation on reviewing the minimum wage and training wage, creation of 3 new groups (Premier's Council on Resource Development, Northern Development Agency, and Major Projects Secretariat) to accelerate resource development in northern BC, move funding for arts and culture back to 2008–09 levels, and legislate child poverty reduction targets.

Christy Clark
Former MLA for Port Moody-Westwood (1996–2005), Deputy Premier (2001–04), Minister of Education (2001–04), Minister of Children and Family Development (2004).
 * Support from caucus members: Harry Bloy (Burnaby-Lougheed)
 * Support from former caucus members: Tony Bhullar (Surrey-Newton), Walt Cobb (Cariboo South), Arnie Hamilton (Esquimalt-Metchosin), Roger Harris (Skeena), Mike Hunter (Nanaimo), Ken Johnston (Vancouver-Fraserview), Brenda Locke (Surrey-Green Timbers), Karn Manhas (Port Coquitlam-Burke Mountain), Lorne Mayencourt (Vancouver-Burrard), Wendy McMahon (Columbia River-Revelstoke), Paul Nettleton (Prince George-Omineca), Sheila Orr (Victoria-Hillside), Blair Suffredine (Nelson-Creston), Gillian Trumper (Alberni-Qualicum), Rod Visser (North Island)
 * Date campaign launched: December 8, 2010
 * Policies: Hosting open town hall meetings, debating more private member bills, and forming a Caucus Accountability Committee, reverse cuts to the Community Gaming Grants and review the funding formula for gambling grants, establish the third Monday in February as a statutory holiday, redirect proceeds from tobacco taxes to pay for nicotine replacement therapies and cessation products, and establish an Office of the Municipal Auditor General to monitor local government taxation.

Mike de Jong
MLA for Abbotsford West (since 1994), Attorney General and Government House Leader (2009–10), Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation
 * Support from former caucus members: Gulzar Cheema (Surrey-Panorama Ridge), Patty Sahota (Burnaby-Edmonds)
 * Date campaign launched: December 1, 2010
 * Policies: Increasing the minimum wage after public consultation, moving the HST referendum to an earlier date, lowering the voting age to 16, a reduced number of cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries and a reduced Office of Premier, online postings of MLA expenses, and extending the Victoria International Airport runway for non-stop international flights.

Kevin Falcon
MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale (since 2001), Minister of Transportation (2004–09), Minister of Health Services (2009–10)
 * Support from caucus members: Pat Bell (Prince George-Mackenzie), Iain Black (Port Moody-Westwood), Shirley Bond (Prince George-Valemount), Stephanie Cadieux (Surrey-Panorama), Ron Cantelon (Parksville-Qualicum), Ida Chong (Oak Bay-Gordon Head), Rich Coleman (Fort Langley-Aldergrove), Marc Dalton (Maple Ridge-Mission), Colin Hansen (Vancouver-Quilchena), Dave Hayer (Surrey-Tynehead), Douglas Horne (Coquitlam-Burke Mountain), Rob Howard (Richmond Centre), John Les (Chilliwack), Margaret MacDiarmid (Vancouver-Fairview), Joan McIntyre (West Vancouver-Sea to Sky), Pat Pimm (Peace River North), Mary Polak (Langley), Ben Stewart (Westside-Kelowna), John Yap (Richmond-Steveston)
 * Support from former caucus members: Richard Neufeld (Peace River North), Patrick Wong (Vancouver-Kensington)
 * Date campaign launched: November 30, 2010
 * Policies: 12-point public safety platform which includes giving municipality 50% of proceeds-of-crime, requiring pawnshop and scrap metal dealers to report all purchases to police, and expanding the Meth Watch program, extending the rural and oil/gas road building programs, merit pay for teachers, additional language options in schools, and freezing the carbon tax after 2012.

Results
The rounds were counted in terms of points, with 100 points allocated per electoral district.

Potential/withdrawn candidates
Potential candidates that declined to run:
 * Iain Black, MLA for Port Moody-Westwood, Minister of Labour
 * Rich Coleman, MLA for Fort Langley-Aldergrove, Solicitor General and Minister for Public Safety
 * Dianne Watts, Mayor of Surrey
 * Carole Taylor, former MLA for Vancouver-Langara (2005–08) and former Minister of Finance (2005–08)

Withdrawn candidates:

Moira Stilwell
MLA for Vancouver-Langara (since 2009), Minister of Regional Economic and Skills Development (2010), Minister of Education and Labour Market Development (2009–10).
 * Date campaign launched: November 22, 2010
 * Date campaign ended: February 16, 2011, endorsed George Abbott
 * Proposed policies: Moving the HST referendum to an earlier date, raising the minimum wage to $10/hour, decrease student loan rate to no higher than prime plus 1%, significant new funding for college and university infrastructure, tax incentives for municipalities that reduce or eliminate Class 4 (major industrial) tax rates, increasing the "Passport to Education" program to encourage enrollment into community colleges, and develop the National Mountain Search and Rescue Training Institute in Revelstoke.

Ed Mayne
Mayor of Parksville, British Columbia.
 * Date campaign launched: January 3, 2011
 * Date campaign ended: February 17, 2011, endorsed George Abbott
 * Proposed policies: Free votes in the legislature (except on confidence issues), term limits for premiers, mandatory voting or tax credits to encourage people to vote, increase minimum wage over two or three years, improving the Southern Railway of Vancouver Island, and use universities to develop the green energy sector and attract manufacturing jobs.

Polling
Early polling has shown that Christy Clark is the candidate with the highest level of support among all voters, with a net positive score of eleven versus minus one for George Abbott, minus twelve for Moira Stilwell, minus eighteen for Mike de Jong, and minus twenty-three for Kevin Falcon. This is in line with earlier polls which found Clark with a twenty-five-point lead among all voters as preferred BC Liberal leader and a fourteen-point lead among definite Liberal voters. An update of the poll on February 22, after Stilwell and Mayne had withdrawn, showed Clark still leading with a 67% favourability rating, with Falcon in second at 51%, and Abbott and de Jong tied at third with 46%.

Early in the race, an analysis of social media in the Vancouver Sun, published on December 11, 2010, found that Kevin Falcon had generated the most social media traffic amongst the candidates who had already declared their intention to run.

Debates
Initially, the Party did not intend to hold public debates between the candidates. However, debate forums were eventually announced on January 27, 2011, via the BC Liberals' website: The BC Liberal Party designed and controlled the debate format, intending for them to be non-controversial. Only registered party members were able to attend, all debate questions were provided to the candidates in advance, and there were few exchanges between the candidates. The debates were criticized as being bland and stifling. Following the withdrawal of Stilwell and Mayne, an additional debate was held between the remaining candidates and aired on Shaw TV Vancouver on February 20.
 * February 2: BC Liberal Party Leadership Debate, Kamloops
 * February 3: BC Liberal Party Leadership Debate, Prince George
 * February 12: BC Liberal Party Leadership Debate, Vancouver

Timeline

 * November 3, 2010: BC premier Gordon Campbell announces his resignation and calls on his party to hold a leadership convention
 * November 4, 2010: Campbell confirms that he will remain as leader until the BC Liberal Party elects his successor
 * November 13, 2010: The BC Liberal Party Provincial Executive recommends a new voting system to be adopted for the upcoming leadership vote
 * November 15, 2010: the BC Liberal Party Provincial Executive sets February 26, 2011 as the date for the Party's leadership vote
 * November 22, 2010: Moira Stilwell becomes the first candidate for the BC Liberal Party leadership
 * November 25, 2010: George Abbott announces his candidacy
 * November 30, 2010: Kevin Falcon announces his candidacy
 * December 1, 2010: Michael de Jong announces his candidacy
 * December 6, 2010: NDP Leader Carole James announced she will step down as leader of the New Democratic Party as soon as an interim leader can be selected, kicking off the leadership election process for BC Liberals' principal competition.
 * December 8, 2010: Christy Clark announces her candidacy