BC Liberals look to come out of convention weekend energized for election battle ahead

While it may seem that for the most part the 2017 provincial election campaign is already underway, the actual launch for the BC Liberal's will take place this weekend, as the party that currently holds power in British Columbia hosts its pre-election convention in Vancouver.

1,3000 delegates and 60 nominated candidates will be in attendance to take part in plenary sessions and hear from a string of high profile speakers, all designed to lay the groundwork for the party platform and prepare the party membership for the Spring election.

Among those scheduled to speak at the weekend event as keynote speakers are Jim Messina, who led American President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign and was also an advisor to the successful 2015 campaign of David Cameron.

The second of the high profile speeches will come from Kristine Stewart a former executive with the CBC and Twitter who will address the delegation on themes related to digital media and its impact on politics.

The last of the speech making will no doubt be the most highly anticipated by the delegates as Premier Christy Clark addresses the convention on Sunday, a presentation to the candidates, organizers and volunteers that should chart the course ahead for the Liberals as they seek another term at the helm of the province's government.

Much of the weekend will be dedicated towards rolling out the list of candidates and setting in motion their campaign plans, so far the Liberals have filled seventy percent of the candidates positions for the election campaign.

Included on that list is a high profile candidate for the neighbouring Skeena riding with former Chief Councillor Ellis Ross of the Haisla Nation looking to challenge the NDP for the seat that is currently held by the retiring Robin Austin.

The BC Liberals have high hopes of capturing the Skeena riding
in May with Ellis Ross set to take to the campaign trail

Such are the hopes of the BC Liberals for the profile that Mr. Ross brings to the campaign and for his chances to claim Skeena, that he is one of the featured speakers for this afternoon's "Free enterprise Friday" keynote addresses which will stream live (see below for links to access those presentations)

As for the North Coast riding and any ambitions the Liberals may have here, the status for the Liberal candidacy to challenge the NDP's Jennifer Rice still remain a mystery.

So far there has been little in the way of public engagement by the party in the riding to this point and no notes from the local membership, or the head office in Vancouver, as to who may be carrying the Liberal flag come May 9th.

An outline of the convention plans through the weekend can be found here.

You can follow the events out of Vancouver from the BC Liberal Facebook page or website, with live coverage of many of the weekend events set to stream through the next three days and available through links from those two options.

Those with an interest in politics can also follow the events through the weekend from through twitter using the hashtag  #BCL16


Coverage of the convention can be reviewed below, we'll update the file as the weekend moves forward:

November 6 -- Clark rallies Liberal party ahead of 2017 election
November 6 -- B.C. Liberals in for a fight to win May election, Christy Clark tells convention
November 6 -- B.C. Liberal Party members call on provincial government to allow ride-sharing
November 6 -- Christy Clark rallies B.C. Liberals months ahead of 2017 election
November 6 -- Liberals lacking in bold ideas
November 6 -- Premier Clark: Changes coming in oil-spill protection
November 6 -- Premier Christy Clark, cabinet quizzed on BC Liberal platform
November 6 -- Drug company at heart of 'Cash-for-Access' Story sponsors BC Libs' convention

November 5 -- Premier Christy Clark, cabinet quizzed on BC Liberal platform
November 5 -- At B.C. Libs' Convention, Much cheer for LNG and staying 'Number One'
November 5 -- Last hoorah before election
November 6 -- Liberal convention in Vancouver this weekend
November 3 -- Confident Liberals know all to well how electoral upsets work
November 3 -- Liberal convention to build B.C. election team



More notes on the provincial political scene can be found on our Legislature archive page here and from our political portal Darcy McGee here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review