So long BC Liberals, hello BC United: B.C.’s opposition party unveils new name | 24CA News
Goodbye BC Liberals, howdy BC United.
British Columbia’s Official Opposition formally unveiled its new identify and branding Wednesday night.
The identify change was accredited final fall, with 80 per cent of members voting in favour of the rebrand.
“I said from the beginning, when I ran to be leader of this party that I wasn’t going to do it unless the party was prepared to undergo really big renewal,” celebration chief Kevin Falcon instructed Global News in an interview.
“Really its all about making sure that everything we do going forwards is speaking about the bold public policies that we want to do, making sure this is a really big tent that people feel welcome under.”
Along with the brand new identify, the celebration has adopted a brand new emblem and new colors — pink and teal.
Falcon stated he felt the brand new color scheme was a “little bit of a nod” to the celebration’s historical past, within the type of an up to date model of the pink and blue historically related to liberal and conservative events.
“But to me its more important that they don’t represent any of the established political parties, because I’ve always said 96 per cent of the public are not members of political parties, they don’t ID with political parties, they’re just normal people trying to raise their families and meet their family budgets.”
The identify change comes after the celebration’s defeat in two consecutive elections to the BC NDP, following 16 years in energy underneath the BC Liberal identify.
BC NDP Premier David Eby, talking at certainly one of a number of authorities media occasions staged Wednesday, took a shot on the opposition over the rebranding.
Read extra:
B.C. Liberal Party set to develop into BC United
“For the priorities of the BC Liberals, their priority right now is to change their name, I definitely understand why,” Eby stated.
“I don’t think it will change their legacy in the province. For us, we’re focused on housing, public safety, making sure that health care is there for people and that we have a strong economy that works for everybody.”
University of the Fraser Valley political science professor Hamish Telford stated the rebrand comes with potential political alternatives for Falcon and BC United, however shall be “a difficult balancing act.”
The BC Liberals have historically relied on a coalition of free-enterprise supporting Liberal and Conservative supporters, who Telford stated include totally different values and expectations.
Dropping the Liberal moniker will possible attraction to the celebration’s base in rural and Interior B.C., the place voters are likely to again federal Conservatives and should have been uncomfortable voting for a celebration with Liberal within the identify.
That upside could also be additional elevated, he stated, given present Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s slide in reputation.
Dropping the Liberal identify nevertheless, may come at a threat with extra progressive, city voters, nevertheless, who he stated Falcon might want to attraction on to.
“The way he has to do that is to put forward good policies, but also a commitment to certain progressive values, such as LGBTQ rights and taking the environment and climate change seriously,” Telford stated.
“Those are the things that he has been doing in all honesty that will help him reconnect with the voters the party he has lost.”
British Columbians are subsequent scheduled to go to the polls in October 2024, which Telford advised ought to give the celebration loads of time to conduct outreach and promote the brand new identify.
Falcon, for his half, stated he was assured the brand new branding would join with voters come election day.
“Six months ago if you went around to Vancouver residents and said, ‘Have you heard about ABC?’ Nobody would know what you are talking about,” he stated.
“But yet what did they do? Ken Sim and his team, they disrupted all the traditional political parties, through them out of office, and won a massive majority.”
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
