Current News Room – Chad Dashly

British Columbia has long been shaped by leaders who built their careers outside of politics before stepping into public life. Few embody that tradition more clearly than Darrell Jones, a longtime business executive who rose from humble beginnings in a small B.C. town to become one of the province’s most recognizable corporate leaders.

Jones grew up in Cranbrook, British Columbia, a community in the East Kootenay region known for its strong work ethic and resource-driven economy. Like many young people in smaller B.C. communities, his first job came early. As a teenager, Jones began working as a grocery clerk at a local Overwaitea Foods store—bagging groceries, stocking shelves, and helping customers.

What started as a part-time job soon turned into a career.

Jones steadily worked his way through the ranks of the company, learning every aspect of the grocery business along the way. His ability to connect with employees and understand the needs of customers helped him rise quickly through management roles across British Columbia. Over time, he held leadership positions in multiple stores and regional operations, gaining experience in everything from logistics and supply chains to team leadership.

Eventually, Jones was appointed President of Save-On-Foods, one of Western Canada’s largest grocery chains. The company, part of the Jim Pattison Group, operates dozens of stores across the province and employs tens of thousands of workers. As president, Jones oversaw an organization with more than 30,000 team members and served millions of customers every year.

During his tenure, the company expanded its store network, strengthened its supply chain, and navigated major shifts in the grocery industry, including the rise of online ordering and home delivery. The experience gave Jones a reputation as a practical, operations-focused leader who values efficiency, customer service, and strong workplace culture.

Supporters often point to Jones’s background as a key strength. Unlike many politicians who spend their careers in government or party organizations, Jones built his reputation in the private sector. His supporters argue that this experience brings a results-oriented approach to leadership—one focused on solving problems, managing large organizations, and delivering measurable outcomes.

That perspective has become central to his public message. Jones frequently frames his leadership style around accountability and fiscal discipline, emphasizing the importance of making every dollar count and ensuring government programs deliver real value to taxpayers.

In recent years, Jones has stepped more directly into the political arena. His entry into provincial politics reflects a broader trend in British Columbia, where voters increasingly look for leaders with experience managing complex organizations and navigating economic challenges.

As a leadership contender within the Conservative Party of British Columbia, Jones has positioned himself as a candidate focused on economic growth, responsible government spending, and improving affordability for families across the province.

His message often resonates with voters concerned about rising living costs, housing affordability, and the long-term economic direction of the province.

Regardless of the outcome of the leadership race, Jones’s story—from grocery clerk to corporate executive to political contender—reflects a classic British Columbia narrative: a career built through hard work, steady advancement, and a deep connection to the communities that shaped him.

For many observers, that journey may prove to be his most compelling political credential.

Widespread Outages Hit North Okanagan Communities

Residents across the North Okanagan faced a turbulent Sunday as powerful wind gusts swept through the region, downing trees and disrupting the electrical grid. At the peak of the storm, thousands of BC Hydro customers found themselves without electricity, with service interruptions spanning from the northern reaches of Westside Road up to the community of Armstrong.

BC Hydro Responds to Tree Damage

The primary cause of the disruptions has been identified as heavy winds blowing trees and branches into power lines. One of the most significant impacts occurred in the Cherryville area along Highway 6, where 839 customers lost power shortly before 9:00 a.m. Crews were dispatched to clear debris and repair infrastructure as the Southern Interior continues to grapple with persistent wind conditions. While power has been restored to many in Armstrong and along Westside Road as of Sunday afternoon, hundreds remain in the dark as technical teams prioritize repairs.

Ongoing Restoration Efforts

Smaller localized outages have also been reported in Okanagan Centre, Salmon Arm, and the Creighton Valley area. In Creighton Valley alone, approximately 37 customers are waiting for reconnection following damage to local equipment. BC Hydro officials emphasize that while crews are working as quickly as possible, the safety of technicians remains a priority as strong winds are expected to persist throughout the day. Residents are reminded to stay at least 10 meters back from any downed power lines and report emergencies to 911 immediately.

Regional Weather Patterns

This surge in outages coincides with a broader weather system moving through British Columbia’s Interior, bringing high-velocity winds that often challenge aging infrastructure and weakened trees. For those still without service, BC Hydro maintains a live outage map to provide real-time updates on restoration estimates and crew assignments. As the wind event continues, residents are advised to secure loose outdoor items and prepare emergency kits in the event of further interruptions.

Opinion Newsroom Chad Dashly

VANCOUVER — The Conservative Party of B.C.’s Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) has closed its application window and approved nine contestants to move to the next phase of the leadership race: Bruce Banman, Harman Bhangu, Iain Black, Caroline Elliott, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Yuri Fulmer, Warren Hamm, Darrell Jones, and Peter Milobar.

On paper, it’s just a list. In practice, it’s a stress test for a party that grew quickly, became the Official Opposition, then watched its leader resign after internal turmoil — and now has to prove it can behave like a government-in-waiting, not a protest movement with a bigger microphone.

A nine-person field usually signals energy. Here, it also signals a problem to solve.

Leadership races are supposed to be about ideas and direction. This one is also about whether the B.C. Conservatives can enforce basic internal standards without triggering another civil war.

The application requirements reported publicly — including a $5,000 entry fee and at least 250 member signatures from across the province — were designed to separate serious contenders from momentary internet fame. That’s not glamorous. It is, however, what grown-up parties do when they’ve learned that “anyone can run” eventually turns into “everyone can embarrass us.”

Two previously declared MLA candidates — Sheldon Clare and Steve Kooner — withdrew in the days leading up to the LEOC announcement, underscoring how much procedural gatekeeping and campaign organization now matter in a party that is trying to professionalize at speed.

Three lanes are emerging — and each comes with a risk

The approved slate naturally breaks into three broad lanes.

• The caucus lane: Banman, Bhangu, and Milobar bring elected credibility and day-to-day experience as the Official Opposition. The upside is obvious: they can plausibly argue they know what it takes to hold government to account and present as a premier-in-waiting. The downside is equally obvious: caucus politics can look like inside baseball to members who joined because they wanted something that didn’t feel like Victoria-as-usual.
• The established political lane: Iain Black and Kerry-Lynne Findlay bring recognizable résumés from past political eras. That can reassure donors and institutional conservatives who want competence over chaos. But it also invites the party’s internal critique that it could become “a rebrand” of an older coalition — the very charge some activists have levelled at conservative projects in B.C. for decades.
• The outsider lane: Elliott, Fulmer, Hamm, and Jones (from the public descriptions available so far) will likely frame themselves as builders, not lifers — and as the antidote to a political class that many voters distrust. Outsiders can win leadership races. They can also struggle to pivot from slogans to systems when they inherit a caucus, a budget, and a news cycle that punishes improvisation.

None of these lanes is “wrong.” The larger question is whether the party’s membership wants movement energy or governing readiness — and whether it can find a leader who credibly offers both.

The John Rustad hangover is real — and it will shape every ballot

It’s impossible to read this candidate list without the recent history hovering over it. Former leader John Rustad resigned on Dec. 4, 2025, after divisions over policy and personnel roiled the party, according to reporting at the time.

That matters because leadership elections aren’t held in a vacuum. They are a referendum on what members think went wrong — and a pre-emptive argument about what must never happen again.

If the membership believes Rustad’s departure was driven by a lack of internal discipline and process, they will lean toward candidates promising tighter message control, better candidate vetting, and fewer self-inflicted crises. If they believe the party’s internal fights were about “true conservatism” versus “electability,” the race becomes an ideological sorting exercise — one that could reward sharper rhetoric over steadier management.

May 30 is not the finish line — it’s the credibility deadline

The party says it will announce its new leader on May 30, 2026, at a leadership convention. Between now and then, the campaign will revolve around membership rules, voter eligibility, and organizational capacity — the unsexy mechanics that decide races long before convention day.

There’s also a strategic reality: as the Official Opposition, the B.C. Conservatives don’t have the luxury of treating this like an internal club election. The leader-in-waiting has to perform in public, under daily scrutiny, with a caucus that needs coherence and a province that expects seriousness.

Voters who don’t follow party mechanics will judge the outcome in simpler terms: does the new leader look like someone who could run a cabinet, manage a crisis, and keep a team together?

What should British Columbians watch for next?

Here are three tells that will matter more than bumper-sticker ideology:

• Who can unify without erasing differences: A leader who “wins” by humiliating other factions may inherit a party that never stops relitigating the race.
• Who can talk about B.C. problems with B.C. answers: Housing, cost of living, health care access, and public safety are where elections are won or lost — not on imported culture-war scripts.
• Who can pass the competence test: Policy depth, staffing judgment, and a willingness to say “no” to bad ideas are not optional for an opposition trying to look ready to govern.

The LEOC has done its part: close the application process, publish a clear slate, move the party forward. Now comes the harder work — proving that a fast-growing political operation can mature quickly enough to hold together, and credible enough to convince British Columbians it deserves the keys to government.