Candidates to become the next B.C. Conservative Party leader will be required to pay $115,000 in fees spread over the next four months, according to campaign rules unveiled on Friday, Jan. 16.
The winner will be announced at a convention on May 30.
They will also be required to pay a $20,000 deposit against any fines levied for breaking contest rules, and remit 20 per cent of their total political contributions back to party coffers.
Several candidates shared their thoughts about the rules with Black Press Media on Monday. They all said they thought it was a reasonable way to organize the race.
“There’s a fair bit of money involved, which I think is intended to make sure that the people there are able to raise money and be able to do the kinds of things that inspire others to follow,” said leadership candidate Sheldon Clare, who is also the MLA for Prince George-North Cariboo.
Candidate Yuri Fulmer, who works as the chancellor of Capilano University, echoed this, saying that whoever wins and is tasked with taking on the NDP in the next provincial election must have the ability to fundraise.
“If you can’t raise $115,000 today, I’m not sure how you’re going to raise the millions that are required to beat the NDP at the next election,” he said.
Former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister Iain Black, a third candidate, says that while the level of fundraising necessary might be burdensome for some, he understands the need for the ascendant party to raise money to fund itself.
Black said he is also happy to see details included to ensure the integrity of the membership sign-up process, particularly in light of internal party “squabbles” over the past year.
“We need to manage the public perception,” he said. “We’re doing things by the book. We’re doing things straight-up.”
The large fees could be designed to boost the party’s finances after fundraising dipped during the fall as tension over former leader John Rustad’s continued tenure engulfed the party. But Kamloops Center MLA Peter Milobar, another candidate, pointed out that there might not be much left over after factoring in the cost of running the leadership race and the fact that a party’s general contributions tend to dry up during a race as donors put their money toward a preferred candidate.
“My understanding of most leadership races is that they, at best, are a break-even proposition for a party,” he said.
Milobar also says that general fundraising has rebounded since Rustad stepped down as leader.
Five mainstream candidates have so far announced their intention to run. The fifth, political commentator Caroline Elliott, did not respond to a request for comment.
The large financial commitment necessary could help narrow the race, according to Stewart Prest, a political science lecturer at the University of British Columbia.
“If you are one in a field of five, you have a 20 per cent chance of winning,” he said. “That’s a lot of money to put down for a one-in-five shot.”
Details of the leadership race rules
The money won’t be due all at once, but candidates will need to meet increasingly expensive benchmarks along the way.
First, an application fee of $5,000 is due, followed by $10,000 within three days of application approval. Next, the $20,000 deposit is due within either three weeks of application approval or the day before the first campaign event following approval.
Things ramp up from here with $40,000 due either on April 1 or within three business days of being informed of application approval, whichever is earlier. Then on April 18 (or, again, within three days of approval), another $60,000 is due.
Candidates will also need to pay 20 per cent of total donations and will have a $2,000,000 spending limit. This money must be paid up by the fifth day of each month for the previous month’s contributions.
Along with furiously raising money, candidates will also be trying to sign up as many members as possible to vote for them. The deadline for sign-ups is 42 days before the leadership convention on May 30. This allows members to become a “member in good standing,” as per party rules, by May 9, when ballots will be sent out.
The vote itself will be conducted using a one-member, one-vote preferential secret ballot system in which each riding is allocated 100 points to split based on each candidate’s percentage of votes. Ridings with fewer than 100 votes cast will only have the number of votes cast, meaning that, if, say, 65 people in a riding vote, only 65 points will be allocated to that riding.
Voting will occur in rounds, with the candidate with the fewest votes in each round eliminated. This will continue until a candidate exceeds 50 per cent of the points in a single round.