Former B.C. premier says she ‘misspoke’ when claiming she was never a Conservative

OTTAWA — Former British Columbia premier Christy Clark, who is considering a run for federal Liberal leader, has backtracked on her claim this week that she’d never been a member of the Conservative party.

Clark told CBC Radio’s The House that she is “very seriously” considering a leadership bid, but expressed disappointment with the short timeline for the race.

She also denied she voted for former Quebec premier Jean Charest in his bid to become Conservative leader in 2022, a race that was won by Pierre Poilievre.

Clark, who has called herself a “lifelong Liberal,” said in the interview that despite publicly supporting Charest’s leadership run she never joined the party and never received a ballot for the race.

The Conservatives have provided a screen grab of their electronic records, showing Clark was an active member of the party from June 2, 2022 until June 30, 2023.

On social media late Friday, Clark posted a facepalm emoji and said she “misspoke,” but says she’s not backing away from her claim the she supported Charest to stop Poilievre.

“I have always been clear that I supported Jean Charest to stop Pierre Poilievre. He’s the most divisive politician we’ve seen in years,” Clark said in a post on X.

“I’m thinking carefully about running because he still needs to be stopped. But if we want to do that, our party has to accept change.”

During her interview with CBC, Clark claimed she’d asked the Conservatives why she hadn’t received a ballot for the Tory race in 2022, and that no one got back to her. The host then challenged her about why she would expect a ballot if she hadn’t joined the party.

“If I had gotten a ballot I probably would have been a member,” she answered, noting she never quit the Liberals at the time.

Clark had been a keynote speaker at a meeting in Edmonton in August 2022 of Centre Ice Conservatives, an advocacy group that formed at the start of the Tories’ leadership contest to encourage candidates to focus on issues like the economy.

During that meeting, she accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of dividing the country when he said the views of “Freedom Convoy” protesters, who blockaded roads and highways the preceding winter to oppose COVID-19 vaccine mandates, were unacceptable.

Clark later said she had received her ballot to vote in the Tory leadership contest and that she would be voting, adding she felt that Charest would be “a fantastic prime minister.”

The Liberal party said the new leader will be named March 9 to replace Trudeau.

Poilievre has been attacking Clark as “carbon tax Clark.” British Columbia implemented a price on carbon in 2008 under then-premier Gordon Campbell, which Clark kept when she became premier in 2011.

“Carbon Tax Clark was pushing the carbon tax on gas, heat & groceries before Trudeau was even elected!” Poilievre tweeted Saturday.

Clark told CBC her government froze the tax due to concerns it was affecting competitiveness and was hurting families, and she would scrap the federal one if elected.

“I think the Trudeau carbon tax isn’t working. It’s very different than what we did in British Columbia,” Clark said, adding she would have an alternative plan for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Liberal cabinet minister Anita Anand announced Saturday that she won’t pursue a leadership bid. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc have also said they will not join the race.

Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney signalled through his campaign team Friday that he will launch a leadership bid late next week. Former Montreal MP Frank Baylis and Nepean, Ont., MP Chandra Arya have also said they plan to run.

— By Rob Drinkwater in Edmonton.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 11, 2025.

The Canadian Press