With verified Conservative Party of B.C. members set to begin voting in the party’s leadership race within days, I sat down with candidate Iain Black to press him on why he believes he’s the right person to take on David Eby’s NDP.

Black, a former B.C. Liberal MLA and cabinet minister, argued that British Columbia “doesn’t have the luxury of time to train a premier,” pitching himself as the only candidate with a combination of leadership experience, economic policy knowledge and cabinet-level experience.

He pointed to his background as a CEO and former Treasury Board member, while warning that B.C.’s economy has become an “economic coma” under the NDP due to regulation and a lack of investment.

During our sit-down, Black addressed growing concerns around the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, DRIPA, and Aboriginal title claims, both of which are undermining private property rights.

He described repealing DRIPA as an “economic imperative” and suggested B.C. should reopen constitutional discussions around enshrining private property rights.

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Black also laid out his plan to revive the economy, including a proposed 20% personal income tax cut and a promise to give major resource projects government approval decisions within 120 days once applications reach the province’s desk.

I also pressed Black on criticism from some grassroots conservatives who question whether the former B.C. Liberal is truly conservative enough to lead the party.

That criticism recently escalated when former Conservative candidates Stephen Frolek and Kerry Van Aswegen released a public statement which claims, “IAIN BLACK IS UNFIT TO LEAD OUR PARTY. FULL STOP,” accusing him of failing to support Conservative candidates during the 2024 provincial election.

Black dismissed the criticism as “a little silly,” arguing he was focused on running his own federal Conservative campaign at the time and rejecting claims that he opposed the B.C. Conservatives.

He also pushed back against what he described as a conservative “litmus test,” saying the Conservatives have historically been a “big tent” united more by shared principles than ideological purity.

The interview also touched on his concerns with Yuri Fulmer’s proposed deal with Dallas Brodie’s OneBC Party, gun rights, land acknowledgements and the increasingly divisive debates surrounding social ideology in politics and schools.

Voting in the leadership race will be conducted through a ranked ballot system and will conclude May 29. The winner is expected to be announced May 30.