An anti-abortion group is wading into the B.C. Liberal leadership race, hoping to elect as many anti-abortion politicians as possible.
The group Right Now is out with its ranking of contenders, putting rookie MLA Michael Lee in the top spot.
Lee told the group he wanted to decrease sex-selective and late-term abortions. He also said minors should need parental involvement to get an abortion.
Former Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan took spot number two on the group’s list, saying his goal was to “restore Christianity to a central and positive role in society.”
Candidates Todd Stone and Mike de Jong didn’t respond to the group’s interview request, while Dianne Watts declined to participate. Andrew Wilkinson told the group he is not pro-life.
This is the fourth leadership race the group has been involved with, said executive director Alissa Golob, noting this is different than the rest.
“In B.C. it is a more of a unique situation with one party having both liberal and conservative voters, and so we certainly recognize that fact. It’s just about finding common ground with politicians,” said Golob.
Reproductive and end of life choices and how politicians feel about them have taken up some airtime in the Saskatchewan Party’s leadership race.
Some believe the group helped catapult Andrew Scheer to the helm of the Conservative Party, but whether their latest ranking will have a positive or negative impact on the candidate’s popularity remains to be seen.
But in a statement on his website, Lee wrote that although he was raised in a Catholic home, he does not believe in imposing his views on others and would not introduce legislation.