JÄGER: BC Liberals 2.0? Yeah no, I don't think so

"Faith, family, and freedom." That's how Kerry-Lynne Findlay ended her first speech as leader of the BC Conservatives.

She was not doling out empty platitudes, but making it crystal clear she has no intention of letting the party become the BC Liberals reincarnated.

From day one of the campaign, every candidate tried — often too hard — to portray themselves as the only true conservative, trotting out their right-wing bona fides and digging up any liberal skeletons in their rivals' closets.

Fulmer had done land acknowledgements, Black and Milobar had both been BC Liberal MLAs, and Elliott was previously the vice-president of BC United. Findlay, on the other hand, served in two Conservative governments at the federal level, has a long history of social conservatism, and received endorsements from two of the most openly right-wing MLAs in the legislature.

In the end, she managed to convince members she could walk the talk — but only just. Voting went right down the wire, with Findlay besting Elliott 51% to 49% on the fourth ballot. Fascinating that members were split almost evenly between two candidates with similar policies but very different backgrounds and delivery.

More often than not, politicians win by promising to move in a bold new direction. Findlay's success, however, came largely from vowing to put the (reverse) pedal to the metal and bring the party back to its roots.

Between 2022 and 2023, the electorally irrelevant party saw its first glimmer of hope by serving as a refuge for those disillusioned by the BC Liberals, which had long been the closest thing in the British Columbia legislature to a conservative party.

Among those who saw the need for an unapologetically conservative alternative and turned the dormant entity into an eruptive political force were Aaron Gunn and Angelo Isidorou — two men who do not have a left-leaning bone in their bodies.

In 2024, in a hail Mary attempt to defeat Premier David Eby and the BC NDP, now-former leader John Rustad and his BC United counterpart Kevin Falcon joined forces to create the centre-right coalition that exists today. While there were ideological disagreements, everyone was unified in their desire to see the current government replaced.

Since then, despite losing the election, the BC Conservatives have largely managed to stay intact. A number of MLAs have jumped ship, however, accusing the party of straying too far right or too far left, of being too strong on certain issues, or too weak.

On the Boultbee to Brodie spectrum, Findlay is ideologically closer to the leader of OneBC, and has wasted no time in informing BC exactly what principles the party will be guided by going forward. Yes, that's right — faith, family, and freedom.

Let's break that down, shall we?

While Findlay is herself openly Christian, it'd be silly to suggest she wants to make MLAs and voters pass a religious litmus test to be in her party — or that she wants to trust BC's future to a higher power. Faith, in this case, could symbolize a return to so-called traditional values. Then again, she did mention god numerous times while on stage, so perhaps it's a tad more literal than that.

Traditionally, families are made up of parents and children. Findlay has talked at length about those two groups, typically in the context of the former having the right to protect and teach the latter. She's made it clear that parents, not government, should have the final say over how children are raised. By emphasizing the importance of the family, she is also likely alluding to the need for tighter-knit communities.

Then there's freedom, a word for which everyone has a slightly different definition. Findlay, like every other candidate, said she believes British Columbians have certain rights that must not be infringed, such as the right to property, freedom of speech, conscience, and so on. She's also argued that the government sometimes has a duty to step in and prevent people from doing things many deem to be within their rights — such as undergoing life-altering medical procedures or consuming drugs.

Regardless of what she meant by each of those words, the fact she was unafraid to utter them — and that they were met with applause — is quite something. In the political context, they're overtly conservative, and ripe for condemnation by rival parties hoping to brand her as extreme.

Keep that messaging up, and nobody will be mistaking her for leader of the BC Liberals 2.0.

It's early days, and her tone could mellow as she settles into the job. For now, though, it looks like this ain't Halford's Conservative Party of BC, or even Rustad's. This is the party Gunn dreamed it would be when he and Isidorou revived it all those years ago.