B.C. Liberals Set Date for Leadership Vote

The party will pick a new leader in a vote on Feb. 26, 2011.

B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell announced earlier this month that he would resign, after he presided over the Liberal Party’s nosedive in the polls that resulted from his unpopular implementation of the Harmonized Sales Tax. He has surprised some observers however by not stepping down immediately, and it now appears that the province will have a lame duck leader for more than three months. The field of potential leadership candidates has been limited by the fact that few politicians want to step in and manage the mess Campbell is leaving behind. Analysts say the party’s new leader will likely be a current or recent provincial Liberal cabinet minister.