he new provincial party aiming to capture the support of centrist voters disillusioned with both the NDP and the B.C. Conservatives has selected the leader it hopes will help it achieve that goal.
CentreBC announced Saturday that its new leader will be Mike Bernier, the former B.C. Liberal MLA for Peace River South who served as minister of education under Christy Clark’s government.
“I am stepping up to this role because, like so many British Columbians, the two parties on offer do not represent my values,” Bernier said in a statement released by the party after Saturday’s announcement on the lawn of the provincial legislature.
“I am excited to play a part in building a safer, more affordable, and more prosperous B.C.”
CentreBC was founded after the 2024 election by former B.C. Liberal and B.C. United MLA Karin Kirkpatrick, who served as the party’s “founding leader” before resigning the post in June.
The party said its executive council appointed Bernier after a “leadership search.”
Kirkpatrick introduced Bernier at Saturday’s event.
“Mike and I served together in the Legislature. He leads with integrity, common sense, and a genuine commitment to the people he serves,” said Kirkpatrick, in the statement.
“He understands both the opportunities and the challenges facing communities across British Columbia, and has the experience, temperament, and credibility to build a strong, province-wide movement. Mike is the right person to lead CentreBC as we offer British Columbians a socially progressive, fiscally responsible alternative to the tired NDP government and the hard-right B.C. Conservatives.”
For its part, the governing NDP was quick to tie Bernier to his B.C. Liberal past, issuing a statement shortly after CentreBC’s announcement decrying the new leader’s “legacy of cuts and higher costs.”
“I’m sure some Conservative-leaning people who can’t stomach (B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne) Findlay’s Trump-style approach will find a home with Centre-Right-BC,” said NDP MLA Darlene Rotchford, in the statement.
“But many of us remember how Mike Bernier and the B.C. Liberals cut funding for hospitals and schools while giving tax breaks to the richest two per cent and letting speculators drive us into the housing affordability crisis.”
The B.C. Conservatives did not immediately comment on Bernier’s appointment.