Mike Bernier named leader of B.C.'s new centrist party CentreBC

Former B.C. education minister Mike Bernier is returning to provincial politics as the new leader of CentreBC, a fledgling party positioning itself as a centrist alternative to the NDP and B.C. Conservatives.

Bernier, who represented Peace River South in the legislature for three terms starting in 2013, was introduced as leader Friday at Victoria Inner Harbour by CentreBC founder Karin Kirkpatrick, a former West Vancouver-Capilano MLA who led the party since its launch about 15 months ago. Kirkpatrick acknowledged the difficulty of establishing the party's organization, but said CentreBC now has an elected executive, an approved constitution, riding associations, and has held its first annual general meeting.

"We are a real political party that is going to be a part of the future of politics of British Columbia," Kirkpatrick said.

Bernier served as education minister under Christy Clark's administration and also held roles as parliamentary secretary for energy literacy and the environment. He later served in opposition critic positions covering housing and finance. In the 2024 provincial election, running as an independent after BC United's collapse, he finished second in Peace River South with 2,525 votes to BC Conservative candidate Larry Neufeld's 7,182.

Bernier said he had not initially planned to return to politics. "I honestly wasn't looking to get back into politics. I was enjoying the last 18 months, travelling, spending time with my family and with my grandkids," he said. "But after talking with my wife, I said, you know, we can't sit back and just watch the chaos that's happening right now in our province continue to unfold."

He framed CentreBC as a movement intended to put residents and communities ahead of political organizations. "It's really about putting people first and not parties. It should be about solutions, not division," Bernier said.

Before entering provincial politics, Bernier served as a Dawson Creek city councillor from 2005 to 2008 and as mayor from 2008 to 2013. He has worked in the oil and gas industry for more than two decades and continues to live in Dawson Creek. The party is now working to further establish its organization and recruit MLA candidates ahead of the next provincial election.