In the months leading up to David Eby’s snap election call, chaos reigned in the BC Conservative Party.
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chaos → lead → Party
It was plagued by staff dismissals, MLA defections, damaging leaks of internal conversations, separate probes by the RCMP and the elections watchdog into alleged political inducements, and – amid the mayhem – a leader unable to calm her dwindling caucus as it sought answers.
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it → plague → answers
Peter Milobar was the first domino to fall, quitting the Conservative caucus to sit as an independent in mid-August.
“You could tell that this was going to just keep spiralling out of control,” Mr. Milobar, who was re-elected last weekend as Kamloops Centre MLA, told The Globe at the time.
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who → fall → time
Over the next month, a dozen other MLAs either quit or were expelled by the new leader, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, fuelling speculation that Mr. Eby, then the NDP leader and B.C. premier, would call an election to capitalize on his ravaged rivals.
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Eby → quit → rivals
As the pressure on her mounted to right the Conservative ship, it became increasingly clear that was unlikely.
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that → mount → ship
Ms. Findlay’s resignation on Sept. 20 capped months of turmoil that threatened to squander the party’s hard-fought gains in popularity.
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that → cap → popularity
Her departure cleared the path for new leader Lorne Doerkson and catalyzed a remarkable reversal of fortunes that would carry the Conservatives all the way to victory and a majority government.
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that → clear → victory
The Globe and Mail spoke with more than a dozen Conservative politicians, staffers and strategists to piece together the days leading up to the Sept. 22 election call and ensuing campaign.
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Globe → speak → call
In mid-September, delegates at the annual Union of BC Municipalities convention, rankled by the prospect of overlapping provincial and municipal elections, passed an emergency resolution urging Mr. Eby to hold off.
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delegates → rankle → Eby
Mr. Eby said he would “take the resolution under advisement.”
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he → say → advisement
That same Wednesday, Sept. 16, the Conservative caucus held an emergency meeting.
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caucus → hold → meeting
MLA Claire Rattée said the next day she was one of 10 signatories on a letter urging Ms. Findlay to step down.
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she → say → Findlay
A defiant Ms. Findlay told the municipalities convention that she was “not going anywhere,” and on Sept. 18 expelled Ms. Rattée, Trevor Halford and John Rustad, the long-time Northern B.C. MLA who led the Conservatives to within three seats of forming government in the 2024 election.
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who → tell → election
If your priority is building the movement, and supporting the Conservative Party of B.C., you are welcome,” Ms. Findlay wrote in a post on X.
But behind the scenes, Ms. Findlay was already negotiating severance pay with the party before she would agree to leave, according to a member of the campaign team.
uncertain
she → build → team
The Globe is not naming the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
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who → name → matter
Ms. Findlay did not respond to The Globe’s requests for comment this week.
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Findlay → respond → comment
When Ms. Findlay’s inevitable resignation did happen, strategists and the caucus immediately began floating names for her potential replacement: MLA Harman Bhangu; Mr. Halford, the party’s former interim leader; Conservative MP Aaron Gunn; and former provincial leadership hopeful Iain Black.
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strategists → happen → replacement
Caroline Elliott, who had narrowly lost the leadership race to Ms. Findlay four months earlier, said she received calls from people “just assuming she’d be jumping in.”
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she → lose → people
But she thought Mr. Doerkson was the perfect candidate, in part because, as a past supporter of Mr. Milobar’s failed leadership bid, he had the best chance at bringing the Conservative defectors back into the fold.
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he → think → fold
Mr. Milobar had since become leader of the nascent CentreBC party, bringing with him seven former Conservative MLAs.
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Milobar → become → MLAs
That afternoon, long-time conservative pollster Dimitri Pantazopoulos arrived home to Vancouver and immediately called Mr. Milobar to discuss how CentreBC might capitalize on the chaos to become the viable option for right-wing voters in the province.
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CentreBC → arrive → province
A merger with the Conservatives wasn’t ruled out either, Mr. Pantazopoulos told The Globe this week.
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Pantazopoulos → rule → Globe
A marathon caucus meeting was held that night and resulted in a letter to the board supporting Mr. Doerkson as interim leader, signed by more than half the party’s 29 MLAs at the time.
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meeting → hold → time
According to Conservative caucus chair and MLA Jody Toor, this included Brent Chapman, then the MLA for Surrey South, and also the husband of Ms. Findlay.
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this → accord → Findlay
Kiel Giddens, who was re-elected as Prince George-Mackenzie MLA last weekend, said Mr. Doerkson had long been “a leader in the caucus room” and didn’t have the baggage of past leadership hopefuls.
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Doerkson → re → hopefuls
Mr. Doerkson, meanwhile, learned of the developments on a layover in Amsterdam while returning from a conference in South Africa.
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Doerkson → learn → Africa
He accepted the position, recognizing the stakes of the imminent election, and began making calls the moment he stepped off the plane in Vancouver.
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he → accept → Vancouver
The next day, Sept. 21, Mr. Doerkson met with Mr. Milobar and Mr. Pantazopoulos in Vancouver.
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Doerkson → meet → Vancouver
They crafted a reunification proposal that the two leaders would present to their respective caucuses the next morning.
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leaders → craft → caucuses
“It’s important to recognize that when people left the caucus, myself and others, it wasn’t because there was this big rift between people within the caucus room,” Mr. Milobar said in an interview this week.
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Milobar → ’ → interview
Mr. Doerkson also met with Katy Merrifield, a political operative who had served as communications director to former B.C. premier Christy Clark, former Alberta premier Jason Kenney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
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who → meet → Clark
As well, she had managed leadership campaigns for both Mr. Poilievre and former BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson.
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she → manage → Poilievre
Conservative Party members approached Ms. Merrifield about managing the campaign, but she was hesitant, with a new private-sector job just days away.
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she → approach → job
As well, polling then had the Conservatives at least seven points behind, and internal morale was low.
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morale → have → Conservatives
That night, she sought advice, including from Ms. Clark, who encouraged her to serve as campaign director.
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who → seek → director
“She said, ‘Look, you guys have a chance here.
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guys → say → chance
Folks are coming together.
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Folks → come → ?
I think you should do this,’” Ms. Merrifield said in an interview.
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Merrifield → think → interview
Mr. Eby called the snap election the next morning, Sept. 22, saying his party needed a stronger mandate to meet the “existential moment” brought by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.
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party → call → war
For Mr. Doerkson’s first news conference as leader, held in Vancouver’s CRAB Park, the campaign team crafted a script that introduced him to British Columbians and emphasized party unity and credibility.
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that → hold → unity
…and 32 more, not listed.
The Aporia
