B.C. Conservative leader, Doerkson, gets game boost from current and former premiers

B.C. Conservative Party interim leader Lorne Doerkson, centre, meets with former B.C. Liberal Party leader and former premier Christy Clark and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe during a CFL football game between the B.C. Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders, in Vancouver in a Friday, Sept. 26, 2026, handout photo. (B.C. Conservative Party / The Canadian Press / Handout)

VANCOUVER — B.C. Conservative Party Leader Lorne Doerkson estimates he’s said 100 times in the last few days that he’s open to advice on how to change the provincial government, and he got some of that in a meeting with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and former B.C. premier Christy Clark.

Doerkson, who had the job just hours before the NDP called an election, met with Moe and Clark at the B.C. Lions CFL game as they beat the Roughriders in Vancouver on Friday.

While he says it was difficult to hear advice with the roar of the crowd, it is a huge advantage to sit down with a current and past premier in order to build relationships.

Doerkson says he’s frustrated about the snap election call by NDP Leader David Eby and believes that B.C. residents are too, but his party is “ready to rock” with a tour and campaign as platform announcements are being prepared.

He says the recent challenges faced by the party over leadership is “visually obvious” after a caucus revolt and the resignation of party leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay just months into her post, but he’s a team builder and has brought the members together.

The leader says the party will put Conservatives in all 93 ridings with “top-notch” people asking to be candidates, but the vetting process is complex and the party is working as quickly as possible to get it done.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2026.