Is BC headed for a snap election? One BC Conservative leadership candidate hopes so

VANCOUVER — Only one candidate in the British Columbia Conservative Party leadership race is calling for the party to defeat the NDP government at the earliest opportunity while simultaneously demanding an expedited leadership vote if a snap provincial election is called.Caroline Elliott, a political commentator and one of the frontrunners in the contest to replace interim leader Trevor Halford, made the position explicit in a social media post Monday. “I want to see the NDP defeated at the earliest opportunity,” Elliott wrote. “But if a snap election is called, I’m asking LEOC to expedite the leadership vote to ensure the tens of thousands of people who signed up for this party get their say. They were promised a vote, and they must get that vote.”.Elliott’s stance sets her apart from the rest of the field. In a separate post Monday, Peter Milobar — the only sitting MLA still running — called on the party and LEOC to convene an immediate meeting of the five remaining candidates to agree on how the leadership race would be paused and then resumed in the event of a snap election.He stressed that any rush to vote would violate the party’s constitutional 21-day membership-good-standing requirement and “risk undermining the integrity of the process.”."To ensure we are prepared for a potential snap election, I am calling on the Party and the LEOC to immediately convene a meeting with the five remaining leadership candidates," Milobar said in an open letter posted to X on Monday, adding that the proposed meeting should include "candidates only—without handlers, spokespeople, or campaign staff."Milobar, who can vote on confidence matters in the legislature, reiterated he will continue to oppose the NDP on every confidence motion.The leadership election is currently scheduled for May 30. Remaining candidates include former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister Iain Black, entrepreneur Yuri Fulmer, former federal Conservative MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay and contractor Warren Hamm. Elliott and Milobar have been widely described in recent commentary as the two leading contenders.Talk of a snap election has intensified in recent weeks amid disputes over DRIPA and the minority-like dynamics in the legislature following the 2024 provincial vote. Several Conservative voices, including some not running for leader, have urged the party to set aside leadership ambitions temporarily and rally behind Halford to focus solely on defeating the NDP. .Elliott’s call to accelerate rather than suspend the vote has drawn sharp criticism from some party watchers, who argue it could hand Premier Eby a tactical advantage by forcing the Conservatives into a rushed, divisive internal contest while the NDP campaigns..Conservative Party of BC officials have not yet commented publicly on Elliott’s request or Milobar’s proposed candidates-only meeting. The party website still lists the May 30 vote as the date members will choose the permanent leader to take the party into the next general election.Independent MLAs such as Amelia Boultbee and Elenore Sturko could hold the balance of power in any confidence motion that might bring down the NDP government.MLAs return to the Legislative Assembly in Victoria on Monday, where DRIPA and the state of the increasingly unpopular NDP provincial government are slated as top-line issues — with the former being a potential confidence motion with the potential to dissolve the House prompting a snap election.

Is BC headed for a snap election? One BC Conservative leadership candidate hopes so

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