Former Save-On-Foods boss turned B.C. Conservative leadership candidate speaks priorities during Fort St. John visit

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A Conservative leadership hopeful was in Fort St. John yesterday on his campaign trail talking about his vision for the province. 

Former president of Save-On-Foods and the Pattison Food Group turned Conservative Party of B.C. leader candidate Darrell Jones sat down with Energeticcity.ca to discuss his leadership bid and what his vision is for the province. 

Prior to entering the race for the Conservative leadership, Jones served as the president of Save-On-Foods for 15 years, from 2012 until his retirement in 2025. Less than one year later, in January 2026, Jones announced he would enter the race to replace former B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad. 

During his conversation on March 9th with Energeticcity.ca, Jones discussed many issues that he thinks are important to British Columbians, including housing, grocery prices, the overdose crisis, crime, bail reform and more.

When asked about his solution to the housing crisis, Jones said he believes there needs to be less government involvement in buying a house in order to make homes more affordable, especially for younger people. 

“There are statistics out there that tell you taxes and bureaucracy represent over 30 per cent of the cost of building a house. So eliminating that alone will get the cost of housing down.”

Jones said the rising cost of supplies and resources, such as gas and lumber, is contributing to the rising housing costs. 

“You have to pay for the lumber to be delivered to the lumber mill then delivered to you. We have the highest cost of gasoline in the Lower Mainland, in North America.” 

Jones also touched on the issue of homelessness and substance abuse across the province, particularly in the Lower Mainland.          

Jones believes the best way to help those suffering from addiction is to offer them a place they can go to seek medical help and addiction treatment.  

“They need to go to a place where they can get cleaned up, get the drug addiction past them and, further on, to get mental help so that they can start to feel good again.”

The majority of the unhoused in the province suffer from the same issues, according to Jones.

“When you take a look at homelessness on the streets, the vast majority of homeless on the street are involved in the same thing, either drug addiction or mental illness.”

Jones believes the key to solving violent crime, such as extortion, is to see an overhaul of the judicial system. 

“Bail reform needs to happen. In other words, [we] just can’t let people commit crimes and then let them walk out three hours later. We need to take a look at what we’re doing with the judicial system itself. Is the crime being given the right type of sentences? Are the sentences strong enough to prevent that type of crime?” 

Jones also stated that in addition to bail reform, he believes the province needs more police.

“We need more police. We are short of police in almost every major that we have.”

At the end of his conversation with Energeticcity.ca, Jones reiterated his vision for British Columbia in the future. 

“I think that B.C. should be the greatest place in North America to live. We have unbelievable resources. We have natural gas, we have minerals, we have opportunities to grow all kinds of things in greenhouses. Look, this province has got everything that you could possibly need to be successful, but what we need to do is maximize the things we have.”  

After speaking to Energeticcity.ca, Jones hosted a meet and greet at Beard’s Brewing Company from 6 p.m.

Jones is one of seven candidates running to become the next leader of the B.C. Conservatives. The party is expected to announce its new leader on May 30th, 2026. 

Jones became the second candidate for leadership of the B.C. Conservatives to visit Fort St. John after Yuri Fulmer visited the city for a campaign event in January.