BC politics is about to get a whole lot nastier. Kerry-Lynne Findlay, the new leader of the BC Conservative Party, is a right-wing populist whose victory remarks, wrapped as they were in religious fervour, were more reminiscent of one of US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s ultra-Christian military addresses than an inclusive Canadian speech.

“In our national anthem, we cry out to God to make our land glorious and free,” Findlay said. “Faith, family and freedom. That’s what it’s all about. God bless British Columbia and God bless all of you.” Never mind that well over a third of British Columbians report having no religion, a number that has grown steadily this decade. Those are not Findlay’s people.

Findlay is Danielle Smith 2.0. Like Smith, Findlay courts support from the ranks of “Freedom Convoy” sympathizers who railed against vaccine mandates, social conservatives who object to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) education in schools and neoconservatives who believe harsher penalties will cure crime. She also advocates for unbridled resource extraction, including building new pipelines to carry those resources to BC’s coast.

With Findlay leading the party, BC politics just became further polarized. She and NDP Premier David Eby are already levelling some low blows. Jousting between politicians from opposite parties is to be expected. But social conservatism aside, where things are really going to get ugly is Findlay’s undisguised antagonism toward First........

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