FORSETH: “I think I define kind of what a modern conservative is. Ground up, boots on the ground, strong fiscal position”, Yuri Fulmer

On Saturday January 31^st, I had the opportunity to speak with Conservative Party of BC leadership candidate Yuri Fulmer. The following is part of the discussion we had which began with me asking him what defined a conservative.

 

YURI: I think that days of purity tests are all over. We all have a view on a bunch of different issues. I would be a staunch fiscal conservative ... because I believe in small government.

I believe in less government in my life, less government in my home, and less government regulation, other than to protect British governments. I believe in a balanced budget. I believe in growing the economy.

So, I don't know; does that make me a fiscal conservative? I know what I believe, and I try not to pigeon-hole people along the way.

I think we all have diverse beliefs. I think for the conservative party to be successful, we have to include everybody that’s a right of center thinker. But if we don't open the tent, let's call it the big blue tent, if we don't have the tent flap open, inviting everybody in, we can't win.

And I would say as well, we've got, if we want to win the next election, to persuade people who voted NDP last time to vote for us. I don't have a machine in my basement that prints conservative voters; all we’ve got is the public.

We lost last time. Not by much, but we lost. To win next time, some people have to stop voting for the NDP, and come and vote for us.

We just came down from Prince George, Williams Lake, and 100 Mile House. I was talking to a couple of folks who said, look, we were strong NDP supporters our whole life. They said to me:

The mills closed. The government didn't encourage the forestry industry. When the mill closed, government didn't do anything to help us. I think you guys would get the economy going again; get the mills working again, and I'd have a job again.

ME:  I told Yuri that I had grown up in the Cariboo, in Williams Lake, and that at one time there were five or six major mills and a plywood plant – half of them have closed.

YURI:  Those were family supporting jobs, right? Where you could survive on one income, and it doesn't matter who's income. But you could survive on one income and raise a family, right?

We've got to get back to it. We've got to get back to a place where, everybody who wants to work can work.

We've got to get back to a place where people can support themselves on one job, and then not do a night jobs and side gigs and all of those other things to support themselves?

ME:  You have an assistant with you tonight, a young fellow named Jackson who is in his early / mid-20s.

YURI: You know, young guys like Jackson, how do they get ahead in this province? You know, guys in the mid-late 20s, gals in the mid-late 20s. They kind of thought they would be British Columbians. And yet seventy thousand people left the province last year.

It's the largest exodus in British Columbia's history. They didn't leave because it's not the most beautiful place to be?  They didn't leave because it's not a great place to live. They left because they didn’t have a future, and that’s not good for the future of BC.

The job situation here is a dream ... that's going the wrong way ... and we’ve got this Premier, who's frankly ashamed of the resource sector.

Every time natural resources come up, you see him stare at his face. He kind of goes red a little bit. And that vein kind of pops out. And he gets a little bit sweaty.

Forestry, especially, is the thing. We're sitting here squandering a renewable resource.

I had a heartbreaking story today. There's a bunch of those log home manufacturers between Williams Lake and Hundred Mile. An owner of one of them was telling me that he'd had to refund deposits for European buyers, who'd ordered log homes because he couldn't get the logs to build them.

He Said to me, "Isn't this the ultimate industry for us?  We're actually doing the value-added work. We're not just chopping trees down and shipping lumber. We're doing all the value-added work with good, well-paying families supporting jobs.”

How did they not get logs? What are we thinking?

ME: Getting back to the leadership race, I asked Yuri how he would differentiate himself from the other candidates, why people should support him, and make him leader of the party? In particular, “What do you offer that no one else can?”

YURI: Yeah, great question. I'd say first, I'm grateful that so many people are putting their name on a ballot, right? This is not easy to put your name on a ballot. You put yourself out there, for all sorts of criticism and everything else. And it takes six months off your job to go and travel around the province, to take time away from your family.

So, I'm grateful people are doing that. It's good for the party. It's going to grow our membership, which we desperately need?  It's only 6,200 members today, and this will get us back where we need to be. It will help us raise some money, and raise our profile, so it's good for us.

For myself, I think I bring a bit of a unique mix.

One, I've got a long experience in business all over British Columbia, and that has taken me to every corner of this province.

I don't have a finance background; you know, I started behind the counter at an A & W. I started in the drive through, and I worked my way up and grew a business from nothing, from the ground up, into a decent sized business today that I'm blessed to run.

I've also done community work my whole life, first in a food bank in Surrey in the Lower Mainland. Today I chair the board of United Way, globally. We're a six and a half billion-dollar charity in 34 countries, that helps communities raise themselves up.

So, you know, I've got that balance of business experience. I know running the province isn't running a business, but there are some similarities. I've got experience bringing teams together, bringing diverse groups together. I've got experience setting a strategy, and a vision, and then doing the work to see that strategy or vision through.

And I'm pleasantly unencumbered with political baggage. I'm new to this, and there’s a big win in that -- which is I bring a fresh perspective.

I'm not jaded by stuff that's happened for the last 20 years, and I haven't run up against obstacles and got demoralized. So, I think I bring a new view on this, and so I'm also incredibly excited to do the work.

I'm ready to do the work. -- I'm ready to commit to the province -- and I think I bring an integrity to this, though.

ME:  Trevor Bolin was the leader of the party during some pretty difficult times, and he has officially endorsed you; how did that come about?

YURI:  I'm very grateful to Trevor for both that endorsement, as well as, you know, his backing.

So I was in Fort St. John on about day three of my campaign. Trevor and I spent a lot of time together and we had good chats. And I think Trevor and I see a lot of the world the same way.

I think Trevor was grateful for the work that I want to do in the North, and the economy I want to revive in the North. So, you know, I'm grateful for his endorsement.

ME: Trevor's previously run as a candidate for the party. Is Trevor the kind of guy that you want to bring back on board, as a candidate, should you win the leadership?

YURI: Yeah, and that's a big question. I haven't even turned my mind to yet.

So, I'm doing a bit of a one thing at a time. Let's win this leadership and not get ahead of ourselves.

What I'd say is my job will be to find the 93 best candidates in this province. to put in front of the voters. I’d add to that; it's got to be 93 candidates who can win.

So, anybody who wants to put their name on a ballot, who's got something to offer to the public, and wants to win an election, I'd love to talk to anyone; Trevor included.

ME: Do you see all of the current MLAs as automatically running in the next election ... to be able to run as a BC Conservative candidate?

YURI: Yeah, I honestly haven't turned my mind to it. I would say one thing -- I'm not Santa Claus.

I don't walk around with a Who's Been Naughty and Who's Been Nice list. So, my mind is open to what we need to do to win the next election.

ME: Pardon me for saying this, but you seen more of an intellectual and not someone that people would typically think of as a BC Conservative; do you think that's a fair assessment?

YURI:  I mean, I've been a conservative my whole life. You know, I ran with the conservatives in 2024, and I signed up in the early when it didn't look like we were going to win.

You know, I come from a hard work and background, and I think I define kind of what a modern conservative is. Ground up, boots on the ground, strong fiscal position. I still want to make sure people are taken care of.

Personal disclosure:  I am a member of the BC Conservative Party, and sit on the executive of the Kamloops – North Thompson riding association

 

The BC Conservatives will announce a new leader, to replace John Rustad who stepped down late last year, on May 30. The last date for candidates to declare is February 15^th.  Those who wish to vote must be a member by April 18, with ballots being distributed no later than May 9, 2026, to members in good standing.

Full details can be found HERE