Unexpected leader: Lorne Doerkson pitches himself to British Columbians

Looking out on Williams Lake from his two-storey rancher, his Corgi-cross Jacksy fighting for his attention, Lorne Doerkson is the first person to admit he did not set out to become the leader of the B.C. Conservative Party. 

“Of course, it was a little bit of a short notice,” Doerkson says, in his signature understated tone.

Doerkson was on a flight home from South Africa when he learned his caucus colleagues tapped him as the safest choice.

It came hours after Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned as leader, following four months of scandals that led to the departure or expulsion of more than a dozen MLAs..

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Those MLAs have since returned to the party fold and are running as candidates.

While people across the political spectrum describe Doerkson, 58, as a nice guy, he’s an unelected and largely unknown leader finding his feet amid a snap election. 

Andrew Reeve, a former B.C. Liberal communications director who worked alongside Doerkson in that caucus, said that could be a source of strength.

“There’s that old adage of perhaps we should give power to those who don’t seek it, and I think that really fits the type of guy that Lorne is,” Reeve said. “The person that’ll lend you their truck or they’ll give you a ride home from the airport.”

Several recent opinion polls suggest the B.C. Conservatives are ahead of David Eby’s NDP. 

“I think that we’ve got definitely wind in our sails right now,” Doerkson said.

Doerkson was first elected as a B.C. Liberal in the Cariboo-Chilcotin riding in 2020. 

His predecessor in the riding, Donna Barnett, says she knew Doerkson would be a strong MLA based on his commitment to his community. 

He’s often found at fundraisers flipping burgers on a customized trailer called the Funchaser.

There hasn’t been a premier from B.C.’s Interior since Bill Bennett, who left office in 1986.

Barnett is confident Doerkson is set to break that dry spell. 

“You betcha. There’s no doubt. The qualities he has, he cares about people of all walks of life.”

Doerkson has lived in Williams Lake with his wife Shelley for 25 years.

He has two adult daughters, Miranda and Shelby, and a six-year-old granddaughter.

Born in New Westminster, Doerkson grew up in Salmon Arm. 

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He had a short-lived fling as a rodeo rider in his early 20s, then moved on to a career in publishing for community newspapers, including the Williams Lake Tribune.

While the B.C. Conservatives insist they are united behind Doerkson, some of Findlay’s supporters have accused the party of overturning the leadership election results and installing a former B.C. Liberal into the position.

Doerkson will likely face the same challenges as his predecessors, bringing together social conservatives and more centrist, fiscal conservatives in his caucus.

“I’m a little bashful when it comes to my guitar playing and rodeo career, but I think that’s where I do bring some strength. I’m a broad-thinking person … who is absolutely convinced that we can do better in this province. And I believe those conversations have been pretty robust in our caucus.”

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In the last three weeks on the campaign trail, Doerkson says a B.C. Conservative government would not raise taxes or introduce new ones, and pledged to slash every British Columbian’s income taxes by $1,000 a year.

However, he’s offered few details on how much such promises would cost taxpayers, leading to accusations from the NDP that the only way to achieve that is through deep cuts to health care and education.

“A snap election basically forced him into the situation and he’s figuring [it] out as it goes,” said Reeve, now a senior public affairs consultant with Earnscliffe.

Doerkson promised to repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), and co-operate with First Nations across the province to unlock B.C.’s natural resources, which he says have been choked by NDP government red tape.

Doerkson has already had his leadership tested during this campaign. 

Within hours, he dropped the party’s candidate for Victoria-Beacon Hill, Joachim Agou, after offensive social media posts surfaced.

Doerkson now faces calls from a coalition of Muslim associations to fire the party’s campaign manager, Katy Merrifield.

Merrifield posted “f–k Islam,” in response to a story about an inquiry into gang rapes in the United Kingdom. Merrifield says her post stemmed from her experience as a rape survivor.

Musa Ismail, director of the Unified Muslim Associations of B.C., says no B.C. Conservative candidate will be allowed into mosques until Doerkson removes Merrifield from the position.

Elenore Sturko, who once served alongside Doerkson in the B.C. Conservative caucus but is now leader of CentreBC, says he must show leadership by firing Merrifield.

“Can you really be an appropriate leader for the province when you’re not able to stand up for all British Columbians?” Sturko said.

CBC News has not been able to put a question directly to Doerkson in response to the call from the Unified Muslim Associations of B.C.

Doerkson will put forward his vision for B.C. when he faces Eby and B.C. Green Party Leader Emily Lowan during the televised leaders debate on Wednesday.