More BC Conservative leadership candidates enter, BC Green leadership candidates fundraising, Centre BC leadership drama and Carney goes to China

Links

• Former B.C. Liberal minister Iain Black enters B.C. Conservative leadership race | Maple Ridge News
• Reconciliation critic Caroline Elliott seeks to head BC Conservatives | Vancouver Sun
• ‘I’m in’: Caroline Elliott confirms run for B.C. Conservative leadership – Richmond News
• 2025 BC Green Party Leadership Contestant Financing Reports Available | Elections BC
• Minister’s statement on status of the decriminalization pilot program
• Decriminalizing people who use drugs in B.C. (reports) – Province of British Columbia
• B.C. officially ends decriminalization pilot project after concerns about public drug use
• What Canada failed to learn from drug decriminalization in Portugal – Canadian Affairs
• Carney’s 1st day in China secures agreement on energy — but no tariff breakthrough yet | CBC News
• B.C. and feds sign lumber understanding with China, as province looks beyond U.S. | CBC News
• Slim Majority of Canadians (54%) Support Stronger Trade Ties with China | Ipsos
• Two Liberal MPs cut Taiwan trip short ahead of Carney’s China visit – The Globe and Mail
• Canada not considering a ban on X over deepfake controversy, AI minister says
• Musk’s Grok Is Abusing Women and Children. Our Government Needs to Act | The Tyee
• Why Canada’s reaction to the Grok scandal is so muted in the midst of a global outcry
• X ‘acting to comply with UK law’ after outcry over sexualised images | Grok AI | The Guardian
• NDP leadership candidate apologizes for using AI to respond to Reddit questions | CBC News
• r/ndp on Reddit: I’m Rob Ashton, union leader and candidate for Leader of the NDP — AMA
• I’m Tony McQuail and an NDP Leadership Candidate, AMA! : r/CanadaPolitics

We made predictions for 2025. They… weren’t great. So let’s make more for 2026, as difficult as that seems.

Plus, OneBC fully imploded and kinda repaired itself over our break. We recap that and other political stories from the holidays.

Links

• Eby’s approval rating
• Aaron Gunn out
• Kelowna MLA Gavin Dew won’t run for B.C. Conservative leadership, citing family
• B.C. Conservative Party forms committee to select new leader | CBC News
• Harman Bhangu says he will ‘most likely’ run for leadership of B.C. Conservatives – Energeticcity.ca
• Kamloops MLA Milobar considering run at B.C. Conservative leadership – CastanetKamloops.net
• B.C. Conservatives should welcome more people, Yuri Fulmer says, as he enters leadership race – The Globe and Mail
• Former grocery executive Darrell Jones considers run for B.C. Conservative leadership – Vancouver Is Awesome
• West Kootenay advocate ready to lead B.C. Conservative Party | Castlegar News
• OneBC ousts MLA Dallas Brodie as leader — but she says she’s fighting back | CBC News
• BREAKDOWN: The very public implosion of OneBC
• Who Is Othman Mekhloufi, the Far-Right Poster Behind OneBC’s Strife? | The Tyee
• Dallas Brodie back in control of OneBC as a party of one after almost 10 days of negotiations – Victoria Times Colonist
• Chrystia Freeland to step down as MP on Friday | CBC News
• Pilot phase of Liberal gun buyback program collects 25 firearms | CBC News

We speak with journalist Rod Mickleburgh about his new book

Who’s in/who’s out in the BC Conservative race. Eby promises to amend DRIPA as Conservatives call for a repeal. Federally, another MP crosses from the Liberals to the Conservatives, making Elizabeth May the kingmaker (for now). Yves Engler is rejected from the NDP leadership, Carney pitches ‘constitutional’ mandatory minimums as he snuck superpowered ministers into his budget bill.

Links

Rookie MP Aaron Gunn considers bid to lead BC Conservatives – The Globe and Mail

Kerry-Lynne Findlay

Christy Clark cryptic posts

Former B.C. premier says Conservatives cannot be ‘kooky’ if they want to govern – Victoria Times Colonist

Sturko hasn’t ruled out B.C. Conservative return, bid for party leadership | Goldstream News Gazette

Eby says DRIPA law could be amended after First Nations win appeal in mining case – Victoria Times Colonist

B.C.’s Indigenous rights law is legally enforceable, rules court

Eby accuses courts of jeopardizing B.C. economy, resource projects – The Globe and Mail

Ontario MP Michael Ma crosses floor to Liberals, putting party one seat short of majority – The Globe and Mail

NDP rejects Yves Engler as leadership candidate – The Globe and Mail

Full correspondence via Yves EnglerCanada overhauls Criminal Code to protect victims and keep kids safe from predators

What is in Bill C-16, Ottawa’s legislation that seeks to toughen gender-based violence laws? – The Globe and Mail

Opinion | Mark Carney is quietly giving sweeping new powers to his ministers

Canada Post commits to free postage for people who are blind as legislation changes

John Rustad refuses to accept his firing before resigning to his fate. The Canada-Alberta pipeline MOU leaves BC and Coastal First Nations with little but the public is surprisingly warm to the idea. Stephen Guillbeault isn’t as he leaves cabinet, while his replacement is already stirring up controversy in Quebec.

Links

• John Rustad officially steps down as leader of B.C. Conservatives | Vancouver Sun

• Rob Shaw: Behind the morning of manoeuvres that unravelled Rustad’s leadership
• Brad Zubyk out as opposition leader Chief of Staff
• Canada-Alberta Memorandum of Understanding
• Rob Shaw: Ottawa’s messaging for B.C. pipeline gets even more confusing
• National Backing High for Alberta–B.C. Pipeline, But B.C. Approval Remains Elusive
• B.C. premier open to new pipeline if tanker ban remains in place
• A Big Energy Deal with a Small Political Impact: What Canadians Really Think of the Canada–Alberta MOU
• Guilbeault resigns from cabinet over Carney’s energy deal with Alberta
• 2 top climate advisers quit saying Carney government is ignoring its experts | CBC News
• NDP leadership hopefuls say Guilbeault not welcome in their party after quitting cabinet
• Carney brings Trudeau-era minister back into cabinet, adds responsibilities to 2 others | CBC News
• Legault calls Miller a ‘disgrace to all Quebecers’ for his comments on French language | CBC News
• How a pipeline deal in Alberta somehow led to a language controversy in Quebec | CBC News