FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2022
Vancouver, BC – The BC Liberal Party will conduct its membership-wide vote proposing a party name change to “BC United” beginning November 13th. The vote will be conducted online from Sunday, November 13th to Tuesday, November 15th, with the results announced the following day.
“As BC Liberals know very well, our name has been a constant topic of debate within our party for decades,” said Kevin Falcon, BC Liberal Leader. “This is an important step for the future of our party and I’m pleased all members will finally get the chance to have their say in a vote. As I’ve said before, I’ll be voting in favour of this name change and I hope our members do too.”
The BC Liberal Party engaged in a comprehensive province-wide consultation with its membership following a June convention resolution where a strong majority of delegates voted in favour of a new name. Among over 2,000 suggestions, BC United was the clear favourite of members from every region across the province.
Many members feel that while the BC Liberal name has served the party well in the past, BC United is a name that reflects the party’s strong commitment to unity across a diverse coalition of party members and speaks to a fresher, more modern brand as part of the party’s overall renewal objectives.
“This has been a member-driven process from the start, and it’s critical that we see strong support from our members in order to move ahead with the name change,” said John Yap, President of the BC Liberal Party. “For that reason, we’ve set a 60 per cent threshold in terms of the voter support we’d like to see before we move ahead with this change.”
BC Liberal members in good standing as of today will receive an email with instructions on how to vote on Sunday the 13th at 10am PT and will have until 10pm PT on Tuesday the 15th to cast their ballots. Members are encouraged to vote online, but those who are unable to do so may cast their ballot over the phone with assistance from a telephone help desk. In all cases, voter authentication will take place to protect the integrity of the process.
The ballot question will be simple: yes, I want to change the name of the party to “BC United,” or no, I want to remain as the “BC Liberal Party.”
If the vote is successful, the next steps include a constitutional ratification process for the new name as part of a delegated convention. This is expected to take place early in the new year, in accordance with the timing requirements set out in the BC Liberal Constitution. Following this, the name change will be implemented at a time deemed appropriate by the Leader.
“Our preference is to move forward with the implementation of the name change as quickly as we can, if our members vote in favour,” said Caroline Elliott, BC Liberal Vice-President. “But we’ve also been clear that we owe it to our members to ensure we’re smart about how we proceed, recognizing that our Party does not control the timing of the next election. We have built in flexibility to ensure we do this right.”
Importantly, the BC Liberal Party and BC United are both registered with Elections BC. Regardless of vote outcome, the party will retain the name and all associated domains with the BC Liberal name to avoid any other party obtaining its use.
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Media Contact:
Zoe Frankcom
BC Liberal Communications Manager
zoe.frankcom@bcliberals.com
(604) 307-5381
