The vast majority of those present at the BC Liberal Party convention in Penticton voted Saturday to begin consultations on a new name for the party. Speaking at the renaming plenary, leader Kevin Falcon said that “the renewal, reconstruction and reactivation of this party was the backbone of his leadership campaign.” “One of the commitments I made was to explore a name change,” he said. “The vast majority of the public is not identified with political labels.” “I anticipate and believe that they will vote for the power of our ideas.” The vote voted by the members will allow the party to explore possible alternatives. By the end of the year, party members will have the opportunity to vote on a new proposed name or retain their current name. It was noted that the process must proceed quickly if a new name is to be introduced before the 2024 provincial elections. During plenary, members had one minute to speak at the party, with yes or no. Members were asked to answer if they wanted to change the name and why. The number of yes speakers was significantly longer than at the beginning, with members talking about the need for renewal and wanting to stand out from “concentrating” with the Federal Liberal Party, as they are not affiliated with them. “We are not all liberals and we are not all conservatives,” said one MLA. “Regardless of how you identify with federal politics, let’s stop wearing federal politics. Let’s find a name that only represents us in this room and we can really try to move on to the next election.” “As a provincial party, we have to separate ourselves and renew ourselves with a provincial mandate, not a federal mandate. And there is a lot of confusion in the electorate’s mind. And so, in order to allow its understanding of the provincial perspective “I think I’m voting for change in the provincial think tank,” said another. One proponent of keeping the name of the Liberals argued that the party’s problem was never with being called Liberals of the PKK, but was always on the side of politics. They added that if the party had to work to change its name, it would divert attention from other work that the party would do. It was noted during the meeting that the name “BC Party” is not available. The party will also work to ensure that it does not lose its subsidy through ElectionsBC and if it changes its name, make sure that another political party cannot take the name of the Liberal Party. The BC Liberals will immediately begin a wider consultation process in the coming months before all party members vote before the end of the year. A party official will form a name change committee with a mandate to set the final timetables and consultation process. Following the vote, the BC NDP issued a press release stating that “the name change cannot hide Kevin Falcon’s record of putting the top one percent ahead of everyone else”. “Kevin Falcon can not hide his record behind a fresh paint,” said MLA Andrew Mercier. “In the government, it gave huge tax breaks to the richest one percent of people, then it increased costs like the ICBC and the MSP and made big cuts in schools and hospitals.” Penticton MLA Dan Ashton voted yes to the name change, telling Castanet he wanted to take a look at the process. “Let’s go through the process and see, never be afraid to look in the mirror,” he said, adding that this is “democracy at work”. Photo: Casey Richardson Vote for a placard yes to start the name change consultation process
