British Columbians got their best look so far at Lorne Doerkson on Saturday night, their premier-designate, and self-described “guy from Williams Lake.”
The interim B.C. Conservative leader delivered a rollicking victory speech as he revelled in a sweeping majority win, secured in a snap provincial election called by outgoing Premier David Eby in a disastrous political miscalculation.
Doerkson had emerged from obscurity to unify a fractured Opposition that was a political basket case just six weeks ago. The party had seen waves of defections under former leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay.
The former bronco rider said he knew all about coming back from indignity.
“I have watched a lot of people get thrown at a rodeo and I’ll say I’ve been thrown a few times myself,” Doerkson said.
“But what I’ve learned, what I have learned from that (is) you pick up yourself, dust yourself off and you get back on.”
Doerkson, who has worked as a newspaper publisher and auto dealer, was once little known outside Williams Lake and his home riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin, which he has represented since 2020.
But that all changed on Sept. 20, when he was hurriedly installed as interim leader of the Conservatives — having returned from a trip to Africa — after the resignation of Findlay, whose divisive leadership had been tearing the party asunder.
Two days later, Doerkson was campaigning to become premier after Eby’s early election call.
“I didn’t expect this, I certainly didn’t seek this and I certainly did not plan two years ago to somehow put all of these stars into alignment,” Doerkson said in a campaign interview.
“I mean, the fact is, (in) politics every day is an exciting day and the next one you have no idea what is about to happen.”
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His first task was returning Conservative defectors to the fold, including seven who said just days earlier that they were joining the upstart CentreBC party.
He was sometimes being a scarce presence on the campaign trail. But Doerkson and the Conservatives consistently led Eby and the NDP in opinion polls, as the premier faced intense criticism over an early election call that he seemed to struggle justifying.
Before his elevation, Doerkson had stayed mostly out of the culture-war fray, his time in the legislature spent mostly hyper-focused on his riding and region, beset by wildfires and hospital emergency room closures.
Doerkson’s time as publisher of the local newspaper had put him squarely at the heart of the community. As a former rodeo rider, he framed positions on health care from his perspective as a former visitor to emergency rooms.
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Scott Tucker, who owns the local Home Hardware in Williams Lake, has been Doerkson’s financial agent since he entered politics, and said in a recent interview that he had known the man for about 15 years or more.
They’re both Rotarians and would encounter each other at community events, where Doerkson was more often than not the master of ceremonies.
Tucker said Doerkson is “not one to go it alone,” describing him as someone who seeks out guidance and input from others, drawing on his experience in business, and volunteering and dealing with different points of view.
Doerkson was certainly gracious in victory.
He thanked Eby for his public service, saying “it asks a lot of a person and a lot of their family.”
“He has given to this province for years, of both of those things. So thank you very much, David Eby,” said Doerkson, who also thanked Green Leader Emily Lowan for “all that she’s done to inspire thousands of young British Columbians.”
His acknowledgment of his political rivals drew warm applause.
But the night belonged to the guy from Williams Lake.
– With files from Brenna Owen
I thought I knew this last name and this article finally, finally, let my brain rest, lol. Rodeo rider from B.C. We used to do rodeo to in B.C. from team ropings, to barrel racing to gymkana’s. Well done Mr. Doerkson. I know that you will help “heal” the province.
Unfortunately, he looks and sounds like John Rustad. He was part of the BC Liberals – a disastrous party that hurt more British Columbians than helped – and now you all get to see how bad things will get. Oh how short our memories are. Having to pay for the right to have health care out of pocket, higher car insurance prices, less money going to the public education system and more of these negative things will happen again because you invited many of the people who were in the BC Liberal party back into your homes as BC conservatives just because they said and did the right thing to get your vote. What’s even worse, I’m willing to bet that 80% of you that voted for the conservative party probably didn’t even look at the flimsy excuse of a platform that they provided. No numbers, no math that justified the rhetoric that they spouted over the last few weeks. Well, middle income people, brace for impact. You thought things were bad. They’re going to get worse! Congratulations!
Time to fix BC, the next goal is to kick the Liberal out fron Federal government and tax payers pocket. We need to put a hold on migration and focus on migrant that we needed badly so we can ficmx our medical system, and welcome migrant that will be a benefit to our economy needs and not those who will take away our youth job. We need to stop getting workers for Tim horton and Walmart and bogus foreign students who cannot fund their study and the main purpose is to steal the work of our youth and ransack the food bank that is intended mostly to help our seniors. Congratulation to the Conservative, time to work and fix BC.
Hopefully he can atleast start to fix the mess 90 years of liberal and far leftwing policies have created in B.C
Good riddance Eby, you will not be missed.
Gotta throw this out there. Less than 50% voted….crickets…
Very cagey on pipelines from AB. All his talk was BC only development. Seems cowed from BC’s best interests. Though he has to be better than Eby.
I am center left as a voter, but this is the kind of class that will make conservatives look good.
I would have voted for him
Good on BC from from Quebec
People got out and voted for the things that are important to British Columbians and now we give the Conservatives a change. Eby has shown how out of touch he was with the average Joe by promoting D R I P A & S O G I to pacify the Liberal narrative and it backfired
” Big Time”
Better push for that pipeline or at least call Carneys bluff
Best of luck to him. He’ll need it. BC is a fiscal basket case.
He was simply our best choice, truth is we couldn’t carry on with Eby, he was a complete disaste and we needed a majority to dig him out, well done BC, let’s all together build a safer better home.
Nice guy. Now he must govern for a province in debt, populace divided over ideology on many fronts, selfish political and business interests, and people struggling to make ends meet. I wish him great courage, wisdom, and an iron spine.