B.C. Liberal leader Kevin Falcon sets sights on 2024 election in party convention address

Newly minted British Columbia Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon is already looking ahead to the next election, promising to address issues he says John Horgan'sB.C. NDP government has failed to tackle.

His remarks came during Sunday's keynote address at the 2022 B.C. Liberal Party Convention in Penticton, B.C.

About 800 delegates gathered to plan strategy ahead of the next provincial vote, currently slated for fall 2024.

Falcon, who won the party's leadership race earlier this year, renewed his promise to rebuild the party in consultation with members, starting with a potential name change.

He criticized the NDP government's stance on a provincial doctors shortage, thetoxic drug crisis, affordable housing, education funding, and its plans to embark on a $789-million rebuild of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria.

He says the next election will be won by the party that "offers real, meaningful, concrete solutions to these problems."

"What really matters is outcomes. Competence matters, leadership matters, and that's all missing under the NDP," he said. "British Columbians are going to get that opportunity to fire John Horgan and the NDP in about two years."

The speech comes a day after party members voted to begin the process to possibly change the name of the party, though no proposed names have yet been announced.

The Liberal party said in a release Saturday that a name change committee will conduct consultations with all members, who will have the chance to vote on a new proposed name or to keep the current one by the end of the year.

"Maybe a name change can be part of that renewal process," Falcon said Sunday. "It's way more than changing a name. It means attracting the absolute best people to run with us."

The B.C. Liberals are not affiliated with the federal Liberal party and have described themselves as a "made-in-B.C. free enterprise coalition."

The Liberals were reduced to 28 seats in the province's 87-seat legislature in the last election under former leader Andrew Wilkinson.

Falcon ran in Wilkinson's former riding of Vancouver-Quilchenain a byelection earlier this year, winning over NDP candidate Jeanette Ashe.