If all goes according to plan, the BC Liberal Party will soon become the BC United Party..The benefits are that conservatives need no longer endure the shame of the Liberal name and federal Liberals have avoided the Conservative moniker. This should make it easier to hold the coalition together, sell memberships, and raise funds. Winning should be easier. It’s all good..Right?.Well, not necessarily. The newly named centre-right coalition may be even more challenging for Kevin Falcon, than it was for Gordon Campbell to hold the BC Liberal Party together..Why? First, a little history. Although I am a life-long Conservative, I joined Campbell's BC Liberal Party and was elected as an MLA. What I observed during those years may help the rest of Western Canada understand British Columbia’s strange politics..Between 1952 and 1992, the NDP were in power in BC for only four years. For the other 36 years, the Social Credit Party governed. They figured out how to keep a centre right coalition together, without either national political brand. Good! History shows that neither a Liberal nor a Conservative party alone can stop the socialists in BC..But, the Socred brand flamed out. Former Vancouver mayor Gordon Campbell then artfully brought together BC Reform Party and BC Conservative Party supporters, under the counter-intuitive BC Liberal brand..Over the decade that followed, Campbell led this BC Liberal Opposition and in 2001, won 77 of 79 seats in the provincial legislature. Over the next 10 years, the BC Liberals under Campbell’s leadership rebuilt BC’s economy, its social services and infrastructure..But, Campbell always understood the risk of coalition fracture — especially with several conservative MLA’s feeling burdened by the party name..One of the problems is that whereas genuine liberals tend to have only one goal, which is to win power and keep it, conservatives tend to be issue-driven. As a result, conservatives raise a flag and try to win support, while liberals will agree to almost anything that will get them elected..Campbell understood this. He therefore allowed MLA’s to vote against (non-budget) government legislation and to speak out when they disagreed with government direction. The only rule was that MLA’s give notice of their impending expression of independence. This proved to be a durable strategy for caucus solidarity..Fast forward to 2022. The BC NDP has been in government since 2017, once again destroying BC’s economy. The Alberta maxim, “BC means Bring Cash” is once again true..Enter Kevin Falcon fresh from a decade in the business world, a former Deputy Premier, a smart, hard driving leader who recognizes the BCLP brand is on its last legs. In February this year, Falcon won the leadership on the promise he would change the name if party members wanted that. They did and voted 90% in favour at the Party’s June convention. Hence the name change..However, it’s one thing to unite a diverse bunch of eager, ambitious MLA’s when they’re in opposition and crave the opportunity to use the levers of power in government. It’s quite another to herd those cats when success intrudes and Falcon looks set to win the next election..Falcon must emulate Gordon Campbell’s patience with MLA’s who go off party script. He must avoid what federal Liberals see as harshly right-wing policies and also what federal Conservatives see as woke Trudeau nonsense. It won’t be easy. There is a starker difference between federal Liberals and Conservatives in Canada today. Just ask Jean Charest..Already, climate change and energy policies are setting up to be divisive for Falcon, with one sitting MLA, John Rustad, choosing to leave the party rather than take down a social media post that many conservatives agree with. Rustad chose lone wolf status, despite Falcon’s attempt to find an accommodation..The timing of Rustad’s post during a critical by-election broke the ‘no surprises’ rule and Falcon was left with little choice if he wanted to win the Surrey South by-election, which he did..But looking to the next election, the fracture is worrisome. Falcon will need to caress the federal Liberals in his caucus while their cherished party name is thrown into the ditch, and at the same time, reassure federal Conservatives that their views are important to the coalition..That’s BC politics today..It always was..Cranbrook lawyer Bill Bennett was a BC Liberal MLA from 2001 to 2017, and served in several cabinet posts.
