BC United

Nothing like it had been done before in Vancouver, and nothing like it has been done ever since.

It was the night that Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberals roared into power with a 77-seat majority, leaving the Ujjal Dosanjh-led NDP with just two seats in the legislature.

Guests included Hunky Bill Konik, Faye Leung, Jillian Guess, Jamie Lee Hamilton, Brian Godzilla Salmi, Am Johal, and of course, Nardwuar, the Human Serviette.

The hosts, Shannon Nelson, Chad Varahg, and of course, Joe Keithley.

Two less than what's needed for official party status.

That was one of the most consequential nights in British Columbia history.

The BC Liberals would stay in power for 16 years, almost a decade under Gordon Campbell, and then for six years under Christy Clark.

Then the NDP returned in 2017 under John Horgan, followed by David Eby in 2022.

And that's the great thing about what Lauren has done.

He's brought together a coalition of people, just as we did with the BC Liberals, And he said this is about all of British Columbia, not part of it.

It's about taking full advantage of the opportunities that British Columbia represents, whether it's LNG, whether it's in the mining industry, whether it's in forestry.

And it's saying we're going to be transparent.

You have to have your principles in place to start, which is what Warren does and the BC Conservatives do, and then you have to move through.

And make no mistake, you referred to this earlier, but in the fall of 2001, we were elected in June of 2001.

In the fall sometime there was a poll done And people said, boy, we really like those BC Liberals, right? They're really great.

66% said they approved of us.

And that's the great thing about what Lauren has done.

He's brought together a coalition of people, just as we did with the BC Liberals, And he said, this is about all of British Columbia, not part of it.

It's about taking full advantage of the opportunities that British Columbia represents, whether it's LNG, whether it's in the mining industry, whether it's in forestry.

And it's saying we're going to be transparent.

You have to have your principles in place to start, which is what Warren does, and the BC Conservatives do, and then you have to move through.

And make no mistake, you referred to this earlier, but in the fall of 2001, we were elected in June of 2001.

In the fall sometime, there was a poll done And people said, boy, we really like those BC Liberals, right? They're really great.

66% said they approved of us.

And, you know, everyone's got to decide on that.

But, you know, seeing Christy Clark at the Surrey rally yesterday with Doug McCallum opening the rally for Lauren Dirksen, a lot of the old BC Liberal crew are back.

And that's, I think, going to scare some of the true blue Conservatives.

But overall, the federal Conservatives are in charge.

He has said that his number one priority is to repeal DRIPA, which is another acronym that you may not be familiar with, but it's basically the Provincial Reconciliation Act with First Nations.

Yeah, basically voting along the party lines as the conservatives took over the former BC Liberals.

and kind of moved that party, which was seen as more center-right, further to the right.

So, you know, dyed-in-the-wool conservative, I'd say.

And the opportunity arose to run provincially.

And I, you know, had previously had a membership with BC United, but they chose another candidate.

I made a post about that.

So it's a longer story.

Sounds like that was an effective strategy given the times.

In what ways did John Hart's leadership style, which was marked by diplomacy, pragmatism, and a preference for working behind the scenes, impact the dynamics within the British Columbia Liberal Party and the broader coalition government during World War II? That's a big

question.

Within the Provincial Liberal Party, he was active in it from the time he was quite a young man.