Lorne Doerkson (born September 24, 1968) is a Canadian politician who has served as the interim leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia and leader of the Opposition since 2026. A member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA), he has represented the electoral district of Cariboo-Chilcotin since 2020. Initially elected as a member of the BC Liberal Party (later BC United), he crossed the floor in 2024 to the Conservative Party.

Early life and career Doerkson was born in New Westminster, British Columbia and moved to Salmon Arm, British Columbia when he was 13. He has lived in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region for nearly three decades. He spent 20 years in the newspaper industry as a publisher with Black Press, focusing on communications and community outreach. After leaving the publishing sector, he transitioned to financial consulting with Investors Group, where he provided financial planning and advisory services.

In addition to his professional roles, Doerkson has been involved with several community organizations, including the Williams Lake Stampede, the Williams Lake Chamber of Commerce, the BC Community Newspaper Association, and the Hough Memorial Cancer Society. He has received two Community Booster awards from the Williams Lake Chamber of Commerce for his contributions to local initiatives.

Doerkson resides in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region and has raised two daughters there.

Political career

In Opposition Doerkson was first elected as the MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin in the 2020 British Columbia general election, representing the BC Liberal Party, which rebranded as BC United in 2022.Angie Mindus, "ELECTION 2020: Preliminary results show Lorne Doerkson elected in Cariboo Chilcotin". 100 Mile Free Press, October 24, 2020. During his first term, he served as the BC United caucus chair and critic for water, land and resource stewardship and rural development, as well as emergency management and climate readiness.

On May 13, 2024, Doerkson introduced Carter's Law, a private member's bill, to the B.C. Legislature. The bill was named after Carter High, a youth who had passed away in 2023 due to an asthma attack brought on by wildfire smoke. The law sought to amend the B.C. Wildfire Act and protect British Columbians with respiratory conditions.

In May 2024, Doerkson announced his decision to join the Conservative Party of British Columbia, becoming the party's third member of the legislature. Doerkson was re-elected in the 2024 provincial election with 70.13% of the vote, defeating BC NDP candidate Michael Moses. In November 2024, he was named assistant deputy speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

Conservative Leadership On September 20, 2026, following the resignation of party leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay, the board appointed Doerkson as interim leader until a successor can be elected. On September 23, 2026, the party announced that should he become the premier following the 2026 general election, it would make efforts to amend its constitution to allow Doerkson to stay on as leader of the party. Under the current party constitution, a leadership election would need to be held and as interim leader, he would be barred from running in such an election under the current rules. The proposed constitutional changes would require a two-thirds majority vote at a meeting of the party's membership.

2026 Election

After David Eby called a snap election, Doerkson launched the Conservative Party campaign on September 22, 2026 by welcoming seven MLAs who had previously left the party, including former Conservative Party leadership candidate and CentreBC leader Peter Milobar, back to the party as candidates. His first policy announcement of the campaign was made on September 27, 2026 in Surrey, where he announced that a Conservative Party government would not increase taxes. Doerkson also announced his party's energy plan on September 28, 2026, which includes plans to double the province's LNG production by 2032 and triple it by 2035.

On September 29, 2026, Doerkson pledged that his party would temporarily remove the 10 per cent provincial sales tax from Canadian-produced wine, beer and spirits for the duration of the Canada-United States trade war. He also committed to maintaining the ban on U.S. produced liquor and to make more room for made-in-B.C. products. On October 1, 2026, in response to an announcement by prime minister Mark Carney and Alberta premier Danielle Smith that an oil pipeline to the West Coast would be fast tracked by Canada's Major Projects Office, Doerkson shared his support for the project, noting that it would give British Columbia's economy a "boost."

Electoral history

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