Northern MLA Sheldon Clare says he is running for B.C. Conservative leadership

VICTORIA — British Columbia Conservative MLA Sheldon Clare says he’s running for the leadership to stop former provincial Liberals from regaining control of the party.

Clare, who represents the riding Prince George-North Cariboo, says he has seen a “lot of pressure” from former B.C. Liberals to take control but that party represents a “failed model” in B.C. politics.

He says he’s running to make sure that the B.C. Conservative Party “isn’t changed into something less than that,” and it stands “firm against the ideological policies” of the New Democrats and B.C. Liberals.

Clare says he will bring his experience as the former president of the National Firearms Association from 2010 to 2021 among other leadership roles to build a “good, solid team” that will move the province in a new direction.

The former instructor at the College of New Caledonia says he will formally launch his campaign toward the end of January, and plans to bring a northern perspective to the race.

Clare says it is important for the large population centres to understand that the resource-producing regions are very much in need of the services and infrastructure enjoyed in the south, and that B.C. can’t be a province where “one part of it makes the money, and the other spends it.”

Clare joins entrepreneur Yuri Fulmer and Rossland contractor Warren Hamm as declared candidates, while former grocery executive Darrell Jones, and MLAs Harman Bhangu and Peter Milobar have also said that they are seriously considering a run to replace John Rustad who resigned last month.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 8, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press