Christy Clark, former B.C. premier and one of the potential candidates to replace Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, has backed away from recent claims that she did not hold a Conservative Party membership.
Clark had voiced her support for Jean Charest in the 2022 Conservative Party leadership race, where members could cast ballots for a leader. However, she told CBC in an interview that aired on Jan. 10 that she didn’t become a member of the party at that time.
“I never got a membership and I never got a ballot,” she said.
The reporter told Clark the Conservatives had confirmed her membership and indicated it had been cancelled.
“I wouldn’t put it past them to manufacture one of them,” Clark said during the interview.
Jenni Byrne, a senior adviser for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, posted confirmation of Clark’s membership on the X platform.
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“Christy Clark signed up to vote in the last Conservative Leadership race on June 2, 2022,” Byrne said in the Jan. 10 post, which included an image of Clark’s membership details.
In September 2022, Clark told CTV that she had joined the party so she could vote in the leadership race.
“I felt like it was my civic duty to make sure that we were supporting candidates who care about the things we hold in common,” Clark said at the time.
In a post on X on Jan. 10, Clark said she “misspoke.”
“Lesson learned,” she said. “I have always been clear that I supported Jean Charest to stop Pierre Poilievre. Not backing away from that,” she said.
She also called Poilievre the “most divisive politician we’ve seen in years,” adding that she felt it was her duty to stop him.
“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. Sticking with the status quo is a losing strategy,” she said.
For his part, Poilievre has also criticized Clark, referencing how during her time in office, B.C. had a provincial carbon tax.
“Carbon Tax Clark was pushing the carbon tax on gas, heat & groceries before Trudeau was even elected!” he said on social media on Jan. 11.
Clark has not announced if she will run for the leadership of the Liberal Party, but she has expressed interest, as has former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney. The name of former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland has also been mentioned by Liberals MPs as a possible candidate to replace Trudeau.
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly have both said they will not be running to lead the party. Transportation Minister Anita Anand announced on Jan. 11 that she will not be running.
Only two candidates have officially declared they are running. Former Liberal MP Frank Baylis informally announced his intentions just hours after Trudeau’s resignation, while Liberal Ontario MP Chandra Arya did so on Jan. 9.
A handful of cabinet ministers have expressed interest in the leadership role, including Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, and Employment Minister Steven MacKinnon. House Leader Karina Gould may also be a possible candidate.
Trudeau announced on Jan. 6 he will step down once a replacement is chosen by the party.
The party has selected March 9 as the day to announce the new leader. Candidates must declare their intentions by Jan. 23 and pay a $350,000 entrance fee.
Jennifer Cowan contributed to this report.
