NEW WESTMINSTER — Former British Columbia cabinet minister Mike Bernier is the new leader of CentreBC, a fledgling centrist party positioning itself as an alternative for voters tired of the "polarizing choice" between the BC NDP and BC Conservatives..Bernier, who served as education minister and represented Peace River South for more than a decade, was introduced Saturday at a news conference in Victoria by CentreBC founder Karin Kirkpatrick.“I am stepping up to this role because, like so many British Columbians, the two parties on offer do not represent my values,” Bernier said. “BC needs a socially progressive, fiscally responsible choice.”.Born in 1968 in North Vancouver, Bernier spent more than 20 years in the natural gas industry before entering politics. He served as a Dawson Creek city councillor and then mayor from 2008 to 2013.Elected as a BC Liberal MLA for Peace River South in 2013, he was re-elected in 2017 with nearly 76% of the vote and again in 2020. As education minister from 2015 to 2017, he mandated the SOGI 123 program in schools and fired the Vancouver school board over budget issues. In opposition, he was finance and housing critic..Bernier lost his seat in the 2024 election running as an independent after the BC United collapse.CentreBC was founded in March 2025 by Kirkpatrick, a former West Vancouver-Capilano MLA, after BC United’s collapse. The party did not exist during the 2024 election and therefore ran no candidates and recorded no vote share.It aims to field a full slate of 93 candidates in the next provincial election, expected in 2028. The party currently holds no seats in the legislature. Membership stood at just over 300 at its first AGM in June, though it reported a spike in sign-ups after Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s win in the BC Conservative leadership race..With the NDP under Premier David Eby and the BC Conservatives under Findlay locked in a tight, and what some might refer to as a "polarizing" race, CentreBC hopes to attract “politically homeless” moderates. Whether a party still polling in the low single digits can gain meaningful traction remains an open question.
