Andrew Wilkinson still has not resigned as leader of the BC Liberals

He may not be the leader of the Official Opposition but Andrew Wilkinson still is very much the leader of the BC Liberals.

The party confirmed Thursday that Wilkinson has not formally stepped down as the party leader. He did step down as the leader of the Official Opposition, a job Shirley Bond is now holding until the Liberals hold a leadership convention.

“The current leader has not officially stepped down as leader of the party. Our party constitution stipulates that a one year timeline is triggered if/when a leader decides to formally step down. The Leadership Election Organizing Committee will be determining the timeline for leadership,” the BC Liberals said in an email.

Wilkinson led the BC Liberals to 28 seats in last October’s election, the worst performance for the party since 1991.

The Vancouver-Quilchena MLA was originally reluctant to step down as leader of the opposition vowing to stay on until his replacement was chosen. The new leadership organizing committee is now determining when the party leadership will be.

Wilkinson eventually announced through a Facebook post he would be stepping aside to allow for an interim leader to manage the BC Liberals in the legislature.

3:31 Shirley Bond lays out her priorities as interim leader of the BC Liberal Party

“Andrew Wilkinson is focusing on his role as an MLA, he has no responsibility, no stipend, nothing like that related to the BC Liberal party. We certainly expect a letter of resignation at some point in the next few weeks,” Bond said.

“I am the leader of the Official Opposition. My responsibility is to manage the caucus.”

MLA Todd Stone announced last week he is not going to seek the party leadership.

Kevin Falcon, Michael Lee, Renee Merrifield, Ellis Ross, Gavin Dew and Jas Johal are still considering a leadership bid and have not formally announced whether they are running or not.

The Leadership Election Organizing Committee includes current MLA Jackie Tegart and former minister Colin Hansen.

Along with the timeline for the election, the committee will be establishing the rules that will guide the race, and implementing the process by which members will elect the leader.

“This is an historic time for our party as we embark on the process of selecting a new leader who will unite our coalition and put British Columbians first,” Hansen said.