Post-mortem on B.C. Liberal election defeat says party needs to change to win

The British Columbia Liberal Party says last fall'selection defeat was caused by factors that included anunenthusiastic campaign platform, an uncomfortable leader andwidespread perception within the party it was destined to lose.

The party says in a post-mortem accounting of last October'selection a different strategy, message and leadership style couldhave resulted in more votes for the Liberals.

The Liberals lost more than a dozen seats and were reduced to 28members as Premier John Horgan's New Democrats were re-elected witha majority, winning 57 seats.

The Liberal report says Horgan's decision to call a snap electionduring the COVID-19 pandemic was "nakedly opportunistic."

It says the resulting campaign climate offered limited ability toconduct public events, recruit and mobilize volunteers or createpolitical momentum.

The Liberals say the report was based on the results of a surveysent to more than 3,000 party volunteers and candidates, as well asinterviews with candidates, strategists, senior officials andcampaign staff.

Wilkinson woes

The report says former leader Andrew Wilkinson, who stepped downshortly after the election, was described as thoughtful andempathetic in personal meetings with voters.

In the public arena,however, the report found he came across as "stilted, combative anduncomfortable," resulting in "broad dissatisfaction with hisleadership.''

The Liberals will elect a new leader in February, with fourcandidates already vying for the job.

The report says the party must now embark on programs to recruitmore young members, train prospective candidates and undergo arebranding that supports the values and aspirations of voters.

"The party is perceived by many as lacking diversity, fairly or unfairly,'' says the report. "The B.C. Liberals need to recruit,listen to and elevate British Columbians of every gender, sexualorientation, religion, ethnicity and economic background. Theprovince has changed and so should the B.C. Liberals."