Former B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell, centre, at an Order of Canada ceremony after being presented the Officer of the Order of Canada at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, May 2, 2024.Spencer Colby/The Globe and Mail
By the time Gordon Campbell began his 10-year run as premier of B.C. in 2001, he had already been a mayor of Vancouver and a member of the legislature as leader of the BC Liberals.
But the former premier said Friday that he does not think a lack of elected experience should be an impediment to Caroline Elliott, a former ministerial advisor now running for the leadership of the BC Conservatives, which has replaced the BC Liberals as the key rival to the NDP in the province. She has also worked at BC Hydro in the development of the Site C dam and holds a PhD in political science.
Mr. Campbell, 78, has endorsed Ms. Elliott for the party leadership over four other candidates. Three other candidates have experience in elected politics: Peter Milobar and Iain Black, as well as former federal Conservative MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay. Businessman Yuri Fulmer, who failed to win a seat in the legislature in the 2024 election, is also running.
“The benefit of sitting in the legislature is very questionable,” Mr. Campbell said Friday following his appearance on a panel of former premiers at the conservative Canada Strong and Free Network conference in Ottawa.
“The last place you need to be right now as the leader of the BC Conservative Party is sitting in the legislature,” said Mr. Campbell, suggesting a better use of time is to visit the province’s 93 constituencies to recruit candidates and get the message out to voters.
“There will still be BC Conservatives in the legislature and I’m sure she’ll still be available at the legislature, but she doesn’t have to be elected to understand the legislature or to drive a legislative agenda.”
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Following his election in in 2001 – his Liberals won 77 of 79 legislature seats – Mr. Campbell kicked off his run as premier with a 25 per cent cut to personal income taxes.
Throughout his provincial political career, Mr. Campbell was a stalwart BC Liberal, leading a party that had no ties to its federal namesake. He said he is fine backing the conservatives as foils to the NDP. “I don’t think it’s as much of a realignment as you would think. The label is the change,” he said in the interview.
On stage, he reflected on his run as premier. “People say to me, `Gord. What’s the biggest mistake you made when you were premier?’” Mr. Campbell told the audience, sitting alongside Mike Harris from Ontario, Blaine Higgs from New Brunswick, and Heather Stefanson from Manitoba.
“It’s this. I didn’t do enough. I wasn’t bold enough. I didn’t move as fast as we could. I felt like I could have done more when we were elected.”
But now he said it’s time for a new generation of political leadership. “I want to say this to young people, `You have more answers than we do. We’ve tried to look for answers. We did our best to look for answers.’”
To that end, Mr. Campbell has come off the sidelines to endorse Ms. Elliott after he said he encouraged her to run, having appreciated her stands on such issues as repealing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act as well as fiscal policy.
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Ms. Elliott – who has been backed by such central Canadian political strategists as Kory Teneycke, a campaign manager for Ontario Premier Doug Ford – is the sister-in-law of Kevin Falcon, a former Campbell-era cabinet minister.
Whoever wins the leadership, Mr. Campbell said they need an agenda ready to go from the first day that includes personal income-tax cuts, recommitting to balancing the budget and health care reform to improve care.
But Mr. Campbell, who now serves on several boards, said he will remain on the sidelines of politics unless asked to offer guidance.
“If they ask, I’ll answer,” he said. “But if they don’t ask, I won’t answer.”