MLA Peter Milobar to join BC Conservative leadership race

The field of candidates to replace John Rustad as leader of the BC Conservatives continues to grow, with a high-profile name joining the race.

MLA Peter Milobar has been in politics for over 20 years, serving first as a Kamloops city councillor and then as mayor for over eight years. He has a member of the legislature since 2017.

Hamish Telford, political scientist with the University of the Fraser Valley, says Milobar is the candidate with the biggest name in the race so far. However, Telford says that doesn’t make him a “household name,” and he will have some work to do to get known across the province.

“He’s very well known in [the Kamloops] area in the Interior and maybe not necessarily as much in the Lower Mainland.”

Like the other candidates, Telford says, Milobar is a mainstream candidate.

“I’m a little surprised that we haven’t seen a genuine populist step up to enter the race so far,” Telford said.

“I’m assuming that somebody will try to represent that faction of the party, but we have not seen it yet.”

This week saw several candidates join the race to replace John Rustad. Political commentator Caroline Elliott and former BC Liberal Cabinet minister Iain Black have both announced their bid for the party’s top job.

University of British Columbia political science lecturer Stewart Prest says the overall race will eventually come down to a champion representing the moderate wing of the party and a champion representing the more populist wing.

Milobar says winning the leadership of the party is his first step toward becoming premier.

— With files from The Canadian Press