Unfortunately most Conservatives have no idea how the Conservative Party of Canada works. When I mention that I have put my name forward to run for National Council most have no idea what that means. One of the reasons I am running is to change this lack of awareness.
The National Council is similar to a Board of Directors. It consists of twenty people who are elected by delegates at our national conventions every two years. One of the perks of being delegate is that you get to elect your National Councilors.
The twenty National Councilors represent a specific province or territory. This means the BC delegates vote for their own councilors as do those from Alberta or the Yukon. BC and Alberta each get two National Councilors, Quebec gets three and Ontario gets four. All the other provinces and territories get one each for a total of twenty.
British Columbia has 42 electoral district associations (EDAs). Each of these can have up to twelve delegates to the convention. The President and the MP / Candidate of Record are automatic delegates. An additional ten at large delegates are selected from the EDA’s members, one of which must be a youth delegate. This means there are a maximum possibility of 504 delegates (42 EDAs x 12). They get to vote for their top two choices amongst the candidates who put their name forward.
National Councilors are elected for two year terms and are limited to holding office for three terms in total. Currently the two National Councilors are Don Nightingale from Victoria and Scott Lamb from North Vancouver. Scott is also the President of the Party having been elected to that position by the other 19 National Councilors. Both Scott and Don have completed their three terms so there will be two new people representing BC going forward.
National Council has the following powers and responsibilities:
8.7.1 the establishment and recognition of electoral district associations and the
terms of their constitutions, including processes for the conduct of founding
meetings, and the transfer of assets in the event of redistribution;
8.7.2 the development and implementation of rules and procedures to ensure fair and
effective candidate recruitment and selection;
8.7.3 recognition of affiliated organizations;
8.7.4 encouraging the participation and recruitment of youth;
8.7.5 the appointment of the Auditor of the Party;
8.7.6 the establishment of such committees as National Council may determine for
the conduct of its responsibilities;
8.7.7 subject to Article 8.8,the enactment of rules and procedures for the conduct of
its business;
8.7.8 subject to Article 8.8,the enactment of by-laws for matters set out in this
Constitution to be provided by by-law ; and
8.7.9 other responsibilities set out in this Constitution or as may be assigned by the
Leader.
National Council works together with the Conservative Canada Fund and the Leader’s office to manage the Party’s affairs. The Conservative Canada Fund is a separate entity that handles the fundraising and financial management for the Party.
As of the writing of this post there appear to be five candidates for the two BC National Council positions.
