‘She thrives on being underestimated’ former Liberal MLA says Clark not going anywhere soon

A former provincial cabinet minister believes Christy Clark won’t step down as leader of the party after losing the confidence of the legislature.

Last week Clark resigned, marking the end of 16 years of BC Liberal rule in the province.

Speaking on the Simi Sara Show, former Energy Minister Bill Bennett says the outgoing-Premier has the Liberal party’s support.

“She’s not going anywhere. She has a very, very strong relationship with her team. She has a very, very solid relationship with members of the party. She’s very popular within the BC Liberal caucus.”

He notes this is nothing like when Clark took over the leadership role when some members of the Liberal party had doubts about Gordon Campbell.

“That’s not the situation here. Christy is a very strong, resilient person. I think she thrives on being underestimated.”

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The unstable nature of the NDP-Green alliance and potential for a new election means Clark likely has some breathing room, said SFU Political Science expert David Moscrop to Global News on Friday.

But he said that doesn’t mean she won’t face challenges later.

“I think the current context changes everything because it’s just expedient to have her stick around. That doesn’t mean there aren’t folks who aren’t planning their leadership campaigns.”

Clark was B.C.’s second female premier after Rita Johnston, and the first to have led her party to an election victory.

She was also just the second Canadian woman to give birth while holding a cabinet post.

With files from Simon Little