What’s in a name? For the BC Liberal Party, a whole lot of baggage, voter resentment and confusion.
That’s one of the reasons newly-elected leader Kevin Falcon said he intends to push forward with a promise to rename and rebrand the party as quickly as possible.
“I’ve always said that I think a rebranding is a great opportunity,” Falcon said in an interview Sunday.
“That is something that we’re going to take a very hard look at and move quickly on,” he added.
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The BC Liberals, at their lowest seat count in three decades, hope a makeover of the party could be the springboard needed to revitalize the movement under the new leader.
Falcon won in a landslide at Saturday’s leadership race, giving him what he called “a very clear and compelling mandate.”
Today marks the start of a new chapter for the @bcliberals.
Regardless of who you supported for leadership, I want you to know that you are welcome in this Party. I’m excited about the future of the BC Liberals, and the future of our province.
Thank you for everything! #bcpoli pic.twitter.com/rAena4iHkr
— Kevin Falcon (@KevinFalcon) February 6, 2022
He’ll cash in part of that to remake the party in an image he said will be done in consultation with members and MLAs.
“We have to make sure of a couple of things – one, that we can find a new name that people like and that we can live with,” he said.
“And we have to make sure that the BC Liberal name is also not something that someone else can try and snatch, you know to try and be disruptive by running candidates under the old party name and create problems for us going forward.”
BC Liberals have twice considered changing the party name in the past. Both times, in 1996 and 2013, the primary motivation was confusion that the party was affiliated with the federal Liberal Party of Canada. It is not. The BC Liberal Party is actually a coalition of federal liberals and conservatives – a pairing that often causes tension on social issues.
Party members rejected the idea in 2013 because the BC Liberals were still winning elections at the time. “Who would change their brand when it’s succeeded in dominating the market?” asked then party leader and premier Christy Clark.
But the BC Liberals have been out of power for five years and lost decisively in 2020. They’ve been driven out of Metro Vancouver by the surging BC New Democrats. Their best hope is that a new name might make the new pitch Falcon plans to craft for urban voters more appealing.
Falcon said he’s also still concerned about the confusion between the provincial Liberal party and the federal Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Thank you for an incredible campaign! Here are a few lighter moments from the last year. #bcpoli #bclib22 pic.twitter.com/LmA9Cbtwjh
— Kevin Falcon (@KevinFalcon) February 6, 2022
“It does create confusion, and this has been the case for over 20 years now,” he said. “And I think after 20 years, if we still have brand confusion, that is a problem.”
Still, the rebrand will take several months to execute.
In the meantime, Falcon said he plans to find a seat to run for in a byelection at the legislature – under the current BC Liberal Party brand.
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