B.C. politics has a new protagonist since Kerry-Lynne Findlay emerged as the new leader of the B.C. Conservative Party in last week’s leadership race.
And if almost half of British Columbians get their wish, she and NDP leader David Eby might be joined by a third major player in provincial politics soon.
According to pollster Research Co., 47 per cent of the B.C. electorate think the time has come for a “centre-right party” to emerge, serving as an alternative to the NDP and Conservatives.
One idea to make this happen is bringing back the BC Liberal brand after that party vanished from the province’s political landscape during the 2024 election.
A possibility Mario Conseco, president of Research Co., says is not far-fetched.
“There is an opportunity for a movement, but it has to capitalize on a couple of things. First, you need somebody to lead it, somebody who’s going to talk about the need for this party,” he told 1130 NewsRadio.
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According to the poll, a hypothetical BC Liberal party would have the support of 15 per cent of B.C. voters.
“More than one-in-four British Columbians who voted for the federal Liberals in 2025 would cast a ballot for the BC Liberals in a provincial election,” the study said.
Conseco adds the odds of getting a third party come down to Findlay’s leadership style and how well the BC Conservatives are going to perform in the next couple of months.
Currently, 32 per cent of B.C. voters have a positive image of the new leader.
However, this can change as Conseco explains the leadership race between the six different candidates did not touch a lot of aspects voters are really concerned about in B.C., including housing, affordability, and health care.
“If they really go heavily on the culture wars, you are not going to entice a lot of people who are right now undecided to say that they like what the Conservatives are doing,” the pollster said.
If that happens, Conseco says, Findlay might “stumble” similarly to how BC United leader Kevin Falcon stumbled prior to the 2024 provincial election.
“The second important component here is a stumble from the Conservatives. The reasons that led to BC United’s demise, along with the rebrand and the rise of the Conservatives, had a lot to do with Kevin Falcon’s leadership style,” Conseco explained.
He adds those things can happen quickly, referring to how fast the Conservatives gained traction with only polling around 2 per cent before the 2024 provincial election but ending up within a couple of seats of forming the government on election day.
“So, I think it’s a similar scenario now. It’s a very delicate balance they [BC Conservatives] will have to measure in the next three or four months.”
Yet, the pollster adds there is still opportunity for the party to connect with voters on “bread and butter issues.”
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“Particularly for the third of British Columbians who don’t know who Kerry-Lynne Findlay is.”
And according to the recent poll, the Conservatives are not on a bad track as they are now tied with the NDP among the electorate.
42 per cent of voters would support the NDP, and 42 per cent would support the Conservatives – that’s a two-point loss for the governing party and four points up for the opposition compared to December last year.
The BC Green Party is third with 9 per cent, followed by Centre BC with 3 per cent, and 2 per cent for OneBC.
The support for the NDP is particularly strong among women and voters aged 55 and over, while the Conservatives are receiving a lot of support from men and voters aged 35-to-54.
Southern B.C., Metro Vancouver, and Vancouver Island remain strongholds for the governing party, and Conservative supporters tend to live in Northern B.C. and the Fraser Valley.