Wednesday January 8, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC
Political analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Former BC Premier Christy Clark is evidently interested in running to be the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
This comes in the wake of current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying just two days ago that he will resign as Liberal Party of Canada leader once a new leader is chosen.
During her time in office (in the years 2001 to 2017) — both as Premier and before that as Minister of Education, Christy Clark’s decisions as a BC Liberal MLA and then premier seemed to always come from a cavalier mindset that in most cases produced harm for many people, families and small businesses.
Her leadership had a very negative impact on life and economy in BC. By pinning teachers under her thumb for years and enacting cutbacks on various things in school funding, many school libraries were closed, MSP late-payers were hounded by US-based collection agencies, a blind eye was turned to money-laundering in casinos, ICBC went up while that crown corporation was gouged within an inch of it life, and so much more. Land for hospitals was sold and not enough schools were built. People across BC have been paying the price for those political decisions ever since.
Children in public education got a substandard educational experience which was no fault of the teachers. This has generational impacts, leaving scars on families and now-grown children and shortchanges society for the lesser results that were achieved.
At the time, Clark was asked by then-Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon to step down from being Premier in 2017 — even though her party had won the most seats. British Columbians were exhausted and needed a progressive edge; John Horgan (NDP) and Andrew Weaver (Green) came together to form a stable government that lasted to 2020, and beyond to 2024 (and into 2025 in a less stable fashion, but still not leaning back to the times and energy of the Clark years).
Clark can be admired for being political to the bone. It’s a quality that is needed in someone who wants to shape the world through her own lens. She treats politics as a game — which it often is — but it would be hard to pin down her core philosophy on anything except winning.
Reportedly she has recently been spending time in France to learn French. This comes rather late in the game if she had really planned to be a federal leader before the scene recently soured for Trudeau.
Even the thought of inflicting this politician — who in between elected phases does media herself or presents herself as a political pundit on TV political newscasts — is painful to anyone in BC who suffered under her leadership style during 2001 to 2017.
Canada can do better.
The ride is tough for BC in any federal election as much of federal politics seems to take place in Ontario (and the Ottawa bubble) and Quebec. Indeed the separatist Bloc Quebecois party could even end up as the Official Opposition after the 2025 election.
But having a BC-based premier would be fantastic for the country.
High profile Liberal MPs in BC have been few and far between. Currently Jonathan Wilkinson (North Vancouver) is the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and has announced that he may run for the leadership. Currently Terry Beech (Burnaby North-Seymour) is the Minster of Citizens’ Services. Carla Qualtrough (Delta) has been a cabinet minister but is not seeking re-election.
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