Former B.C. Liberal leader vacating seat to make room for new leader, Kevin Falcon
CTV
The former leader of the B.C. Liberals is stepping aside to give the newly elected leader a chance to join the legislature, CTV News Vancouver has learned.
The former leader of the B.C. Liberals is stepping aside to give the newly elected leader a chance to join the legislature, CTV News Vancouver has learned.
Andrew Wilkinson stepped down as the party's leader after losing the provincial election in 2020. On Saturday, Kevin Falcon, a former cabinet minister who’d left politics for the private sector for several years, won the party leadership, but has no standing in the legislature.
“I will be resigning my seat in Vancouver-Quilchena in the near future because I think it’s essential to the leader to run a by-election,” Wilkinson said.
Despite losing an election that’s now seen John Horgan as one of the longest-serving New Democrat premiers in B.C. history, Wilkinson was upbeat about what comes next.
“We’re into an era of great optimism in the party and a real energy and I’m excited for the future prospects of the B.C. Liberals in the election,” he said.
Wilkinson, who had been a practicing doctor but let his medical licence lapse when he was first elected in 2013, was coy when asked whether this was the end of his political career, saying “never say never.”
