Bob Mackin
Longtime former BC Liberal cabinet minister Mike de Jong says he is still in the dark about why the Conservative Party cancelled his Abbotsford-South Langley nomination bid.
In a March 6 message to supporters, de Jong expressed his disappointment and said he was given less than 12 hours overnight to prepare submissions for a 9 a.m. meeting to review his appeal.
Mike de Jong quit as an MLA and began a campaign in 2024 to run for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives (de Jong/X)
“Suffice to say it is difficult to make meaningful submissions when the rationale for the decision being appealed is being entirely withheld from you except for the claim that I am unqualified for the position of MP,” de Jong’s message said.
De Jong said he spent the last year campaigning and signing up “thousands of members” and is demanding answers about why can’t run on Pierre Poilievre’s team.
“Despite my record of transparency, service and integrity, no specific reason for my disqualification has been provided except for the claim that I was not qualified.”
De Jong spent just over 30 years as an MLA in Abbotsford ridings, between 1994 and 2024. While in government from 2001 to 2017, he held a succession of portfolios: forests, public safety and solicitor general, attorney general, health and finance. De Jong also unsuccessfully sought the party leadership twice.
But he was not immune from controversy.
While attorney general in 2010, two deputy ministers cut a deal to pay $6 million in legal fees for Dave Basi and Bob Virk, the two BC Liberal aides charged in the BC Rail corruption scandal. Their trial suddenly ended with a plea bargain, but de Jong denied he was involved in the decision.
While health minister, several drug safety researchers were wrongly fired over an alleged privacy leak. The government announced the scandal the day after de Jong became finance minister in 2012.
As finance minister, de Jong famously claimed that he did not use email.
He was in charge of casino and real estate regulation. But, under his watch, money laundering ran rampant. In 2022, an NDP-ordered public inquiry found that de Jong and other BC Liberal government witnesses, including ex-Premier Christy Clark, had simply failed to do their jobs to properly oversee casinos.
Meanwhile, Conservatives who are officially nominated are gearing up for a spring federal election.
In Campbell River on March 6, North Island-Powell River candidate Aaron Gunn is hosting a “Pre-Election True North Strong and Free Rally.”
North Vancouver-Capilano candidate Stephen Curran is opening a campaign office at 11 Lonsdale on March 8 with help from former B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell and current District of North Vancouver Mayor Mike Little.
On March 9, the Liberal Party is expected to announce Mark Carney as its new leader and successor to the resigning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The federal election is scheduled for October, but could be called sooner.
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