Caroline Elliott, a policy-driven candidate with a decade of political staff experience and a PhD, has emerged as the early favourite in the B.C. Conservative Party leadership race. She promises to lead and unite the party at a time when voters are growing increasingly frustrated with Premier David Eby's NDP government.
Elliott's Call for Unity
Elliott emphasizes the importance of party unity, warning that division could squander their current 10-point lead in the polls. According to a recent Angus Reid Institute poll, the B.C. Conservatives hold 46 per cent support among decided voters, compared to the NDP's 36 per cent. Premier Eby's approval rating has dropped to 33 per cent, with nearly half of British Columbians supporting the repeal of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) amid concerns over private property rights.
“We need to go into this next election together, as one party,” Elliott states. “Don’t look in the rear-view mirror. It’s not who you voted for in the past; it’s about pulling together now.”
Common-Sense Solutions
Elliott speaks in crisp, common-sense terms that resonate with frustrated voters. She criticizes the NDP's fiscal policies, drug decriminalization, and the release of violent re-offenders. “You can’t just spend like crazy and not expect a big bill with interest,” she says. “You can’t hand out free drugs all day and expect people to get well.”
Uniting the party means bridging social conservatives, free-enterprisers, and grassroots activists. Elliott draws on her experience in the 2017 merger of Alberta's Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties, which formed the United Conservatives, and her role in B.C. United's 2024 decision to stand down and endorse the Conservatives.
Addressing Critics
Critics point out that Elliott has never held elected office, but she counters that experience alone is not the answer. “If elected experience was the answer, John Rustad would be premier and David Eby would be a great premier,” she argues. “What we need is something fresh and different.”
Elliott's résumé includes a decade as a political staffer in Gordon Campbell's government, policy work on the Site C dam at B.C. Hydro, a PhD examining Indigenous self-governance, and advocacy for property rights. She also served as B.C. United vice-president before the 2024 realignment.
Campaign Strategy
At 42, Elliott presents herself as articulate and composed. She has attracted top-tier campaign talent, including Ontario strategist Kory Teneycke. “I have an amazing team made up primarily of British Columbians,” she says. “But I’ve brought in out-of-province expertise. The NDP does that too, and they won. I’m interested in winning.”
The next election is not due until 2028, but the stakes are high. The NDP's slim majority relies on the Speaker to break ties, and a byelection win or loss of a confidence vote could shift power quickly.
DRIPA Repeal
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) dominates the conversation. Elliott has called for its full repeal since before it passed. “We’re seeing the NDP go from defending it, to amending it, to suspending it, to doing nothing,” she notes. “The economic costs pile up every day.”
Unwinding DRIPA without inflaming tensions is a central test. Elliott would press Ottawa for help and supports appealing the recent Cowichan court decision on Aboriginal title over private land. She also wants both levels of government to rescind civil litigation directives that limited arguments around extinguishment of title.
Political Will
Repealing DRIPA, shrinking government, and slashing red tape will be difficult, Elliott acknowledges. “But it’s not a question of whether we should do it. We have to. And in this leadership race, the question that brings it full circle is: Who has the political will to follow through?”
For voters weary of ideology and drift, Caroline Elliott pitches herself as the pragmatic unifier with the courage and the machine to deliver change. On May 30, B.C. Conservatives will decide whether they agree.
