The B.C. Conservatives say interim leader Lorne Doerkson could remain at the helm of the party for years without a leadership vote if the Conservatives win the Oct. 24 provincial election. According to a legal opinion obtained by the party, Doerkson would be invited by the Lieutenant-Governor to serve as premier if the Conservatives form government. He could then remain party leader until the board decides to call a leadership election, a process that could take 18 months or longer. The legal opinion, prepared for the party and sent to president Mauro Francis, says the party’s constitution

The BC Conservative Party has announced incumbent MLA Harmaan Bhangu as its candidate for Langley-Abbotsford. Bhangu was first elected as an MLA in 2024. In a statement, he said serving the riding over the past two years has been one of the greatest honours of his life. Meanwhile, Centre BC, led by Elenore Sturko, has nominated Kuldeep Rangi in Delta North. Rangi operates a real estate marketing brokerage business. The party has also named Raman Sharma as its candidate in Surrey City Centre. Sharma is the president of the Tradesmen Association of BC, which he founded in 2016. In Surrey North,

Heavy rainfall is in the forecast for parts of the British Columbia coast, including Metro Vancouver, with some areas expecting up to 100 millimetres of precipitation. Environment Canada issued the rainfall warning for Metro Vancouver north of the Fraser River, Howe Sound, western Vancouver Island and the central B.C. coast, including Bella Bella and Bella Coola as well as inland portions of the North Coast. The heaviest rain is expected along the west coast of Vancouver Island and the central coast, while Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam and the North Shore may get up to 70 millimetres. The rain

All five candidates from the Sarb Sanjhe Panthak Front have won the director elections at Surrey’s Gurdwara Dasmesh Darbar Sahib. Jagtar Singh Sandhu received the highest number of votes with 159. A total of 281 of the 313 eligible members cast their ballots in Saturday’s election. The other winning candidates included Kishan Singh Heer with 155 votes, Kamaljit Singh Hundal with 152, Sukhwinder Kaur Sidhu with 151, and Randhir Singh Sahota with 145 votes. The Sarb Sanjhe candidates had highlighted issues including connecting children with Punjabi language, Gurmat and Sikh values. The newly

The Vancouver-Fraserview riding in B.C. is set for an interesting election contest, with B.C. NDP President Aman Singh taking on B.C. Conservative candidate Deep Singh Sandhu. Aman Singh, who served as the MLA for Richmond-Queensborough from 2020 to 2024, has been nominated by the NDP for Vancouver-Fraserview. He lost his Richmond-Queensborough seat in the 2024 election to B.C. Conservative candidate Steve Kooner. His main challenger in Vancouver-Fraserview will be Deep Singh Sandhu, a businessman and dedicated volunteer with Guru Nanak Free Kitchen. Vancouver-Fraserview has been held by the B

B.C. NDP Leader David Eby announced during a campaign stop in Burnaby that, if re-elected, his government would introduce a new empty condo tax targeting developers who leave completed condo units unsold and vacant for more than a year. Under the proposed measure, the tax would increase by one percentage point for each additional year a unit remains vacant. Eby said just 10 developers are holding more than $2 billion worth of completed condos that they are unwilling to sell at what he described as reasonable prices. He warned developers that they would have to either sell the units or pay the

Two people were hospitalized after a serious two-vehicle crash in Surrey on Thursday night that caused a pickup truck to roll over. According to Surrey Police Service and B.C. Emergency Health Services, the collision occurred at around 10 p.m. at the intersection of 152 Street and 99 Avenue. A Mercedes and a Ram pickup truck collided, sending the pickup rolling into a utility pole before coming to rest on its side. Surrey Fire Service and paramedics responded to the scene and transported two occupants to hospital. Police confirmed that their injuries were not life-threatening. Police have not

A new report by U.S. magazine Mother Jones has revealed details of the alleged ChatGPT history of Jesse Van Rootselaar, the 18-year-old identified in connection with the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. According to the report, Van Rootselaar had previously used ChatGPT to discuss a potential mass shooting at a shopping mall, after which the account was banned. She later created a second account and allegedly told the chatbot that the earlier scenario had been fictional. Mother Jones reports that Van Rootselaar subsequently used hypothetical or fictional framing to get responses to violent

Two former B.C. MLAs facing serious criminal charges could be back on the ballot in the upcoming provincial election. Former B.C. Conservative MLA Jordan Kealy has already confirmed that he will run as an independent in Peace River North. Kealy was charged in June with sexual assault in connection with an alleged incident that occurred before he became an MLA in 2024. He has denied the allegation and says he is innocent. The case has not yet gone to trial. Meanwhile, the office of former Richmond Centre MLA Hon Chan says he is considering running again. Chan is facing charges including assault