Fort St. John city councillor Trevor Bolin will be stepping down from his role as leader of the provincial Conservative party in B.C.
Bolin has been appointed interim leader until a leadership election is held, the party announced Friday.
In a statement, Bolin said he would like to spend more time with family, and noted the party's membership has doubled under his nearly four year tenure.
“Today marks three years and ten months since I was fortunate enough to be named the leader of BC’s Conservatives," he said in a statement.
“Recently, I have asked the executive to appoint me the interim leader of the party, and I will officially step into that role today," Bolin said. "This opens the path for the party to hold a leadership nomination and election that I am excited to be able to assist in from a committee perspective. “A lot of our lives have changed in the last few years, and with the loss of my parents, I have decided my family needs to come first at this time.”
Rules and procedures of the leadership race will be announced in the coming weeks, the party said.
“I am extremely proud of the party and its executive and am humbled by the experience to build and create throughout this great province alongside my amazing candidates and incredibly hardworking board and executive,” Bolin said.
"I am proud of what we have done as Conservatives across this province and look forward to continuing to champion my home riding of Peace River North and running as a Conservative under our new leader in next year's election."
Today's news follows on former BC Liberal MLA John Rustad jumping to the Conservatives last month. The Nechako Lakes MLA was kicked out of the Liberal party in August for expressing climate change views.
Rustad joining the Conservatives has made him the only party representative in the provincial legislature.
