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B.C. Conservatives Run Campaign Under Interim Leader Who Says He Would Be Premier

The party’s plan to keep interim leader Lorne Doerkson as premier if it wins creates legal uncertainty about leadership succession.

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In this two photograph panel; B.C. Conservative interim Leader Lorne Doerkson, left, speaks in Vancouver, on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, and B.C. NDP Leader David Eby, right, speaks in Surrey, B.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, during provincial election campaign stops. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
B.C. Conservative Party leadership candidate Caroline Elliott watches a speaker during leadership election night in Vancouver, on Saturday, May 30, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Overview

  • Lorne Doerkson is serving as interim leader and on Sept. 27 pledged the Conservatives will not introduce any new taxes if elected on Oct. 24.
  • The party’s board has signaled it would make Doerkson permanent if the Conservatives form government and it obtained a legal opinion saying the lieutenant‑governor could invite an interim leader to serve as premier.
  • The NDP has launched ads and messaging questioning who would actually lead the government if Conservatives win, putting leadership certainty at the centre of the short campaign.
  • Conservatives are rapidly vetting candidates across all 93 ridings with recent nominations such as Caroline Elliott in West Vancouver‑Capilano and public relationship‑building events that included Christy Clark and Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe.
  • Observers note a tension between the no‑new‑taxes pledge and British Columbia’s projected $13.8‑billion deficit, and Elections BC says parties set their own leader‑selection rules, leaving the constitutional question politically contested.