Overview
- CentreBC announced Mike Bernier as its new leader on July 18, 2026 at a Victoria press conference where founder Karin Kirkpatrick formally introduced him.
- Bernier is a three-term former MLA for Peace River South and served as B.C. education minister under Christy Clark before losing his seat in 2024 to BC Conservative Larry Neufeld.
- The party says it now has an elected executive, an approved constitution, active riding associations and has held its first annual general meeting.
- Bernier describes CentreBC as fiscally conservative with a social conscience, naming health care and housing affordability as early priorities and defending the SOGI policies he introduced as education minister.
- CentreBC is recruiting candidates and finalizing its platform ahead of the next provincial election, but it remains electorally untested and faces questions about whether it will change vote dynamics despite polling that shows demand for a centrist alternative.