Christy Clark responds to 801 movement that hopes to oust her following election

There are new developments on the organized movement within the BC Liberal party to oust Christy Clark if the party loses the election.

It’s called the 801 movement, suggesting that one minute after the polls close on election night, the movement would begin the process of putting pressure on Clark to step aside.

Global News reporter Jas Johal broke the story on last night’s News Hour.

The 801 movement is a group that has always had a problem with the governing style of Christy Clark.

Today, the Premier fired back at the coalition of business and political leaders who haven’t made themselves public.

“I understand what’s going on here,” says Clark.

“There’s a group of people who want the NDP to win the next election. And there is a group of people with personal agendas who are prepared to put their personal agendas ahead of the agenda of British Columbia.”

When Clark won the liberal leadership two years ago, she only had one caucus member supporting her campaign: MLA Harry Bloy.

Support for her within caucus has always been lukewarm.

The 801 movement is in many ways a continuation of those issues.

Members of the movement are not happy with her governing style and a sense the government has been on a permanent re-election campaign for over a year.

“We’ve seen big tensions within the party over her leadership,” says Maxwell Cameron, UBC Political Science professor.

“The big fight between her and Kevin Falcon was very public, which was over exactly this issue, her desire to spend money in Prince George to build a wooden skyscraper that did not have the approval of the finance minister.”

The anger from within also comes from scandals over the past year.

From Burnaby Hospital emails which showed Clark supporters trying to politically manipulate the process, to a quick wins scheme to woo ethnic voters, that particular incident angered many within the coalition.

For now, those within the 801 movement haven’t made themselves public.

With poll numbers tightening, it’s still not known how things will end on election day.

Clark certainly isn’t backing down from those questioning her leadership.

“They want to put their interests ahead of the interests of our province,” says Clark.

“My job is to stand up for the people of B.C. and fight for the interests of the people of this province. I am not going to stop doing that, and I am not going to be distracted.”