Chris Beach, the former mayor of Burns Lake who announced last week that he would carry the Liberal banner into the April 28 federal election for Cariboo-Prince George, won't be on the ballot.
"I regret to let everyone know that I just received an email from the Liberal Party telling me I've been rejected as a candidate … without any explanation, after having been told repeatedly I was the one and only candidate for the Liberal Party in Cariboo-Prince George," Beach stated Friday, April 4 in a Facebook post.
"The only plausible explanation that I can come up with at this point is that I was too critical of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and current Premier David Eby, in my past history as an active BC Liberal Party member and TV and radio political analyst."
Beach told media and supporters he had been acclaimed before holding a campaign launch event on Friday, March 28, after which it was confirmed by The Citizen that he had not been formally named the party's candidate.
At that time, Beach blamed the confusion on a bureaucratic snafu. The Liberals' BC campaign manager, Haley Hodgson, told The Citizen Beach had submitted a nomination package and was in the "greenlight process," but was not the official candidate.
"Like former BC Liberal Premier Christy Clark, I have been passed on by the Liberal Party for former Green Party candidates and former NDP MLAs," Beach wrote in the Facebook post. "This is the Liberal Party's choice to make. I just wish they had been transparent, honest, and professional from day one, rather than the complete opposite."
Beach also thanked people who supported his candidacy in the post.
In addition to his political career in Burns Lake and his media appearances, Beach teaches political science at the College of New Caledonia.
The Liberal Party of Canada currently does not have candidates in Cariboo-Prince George or Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies.
The deadline to get on the ballot is Monday, April 7.
