British Columbia

NDP Leader Adrian Dix to reveal future plans next week

New Democratic Party Leader Adrian Dix will make an announcement next week concerning his political future.
B.C. NDP Leader Adrian Dix is slated to make an announcement next week. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

B.C. Opposition Leader Adrian Dix will announce next week whether or not he'll fight to stay on as the leader of the provincial NDP, his office has revealed.

NDP communication director Tim Pearson says a time, date or location for the Dix announcement has not been set, but it will occur sometime next week.

Dix is slated to address the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Vancouver on Thursday of next week.

The NDP leader has been under increasing pressure to announce his political intentions ever since he led the party to a devastating election loss in May.

The party had a significant lead in the polls heading into the spring election, but when the votes were counted on May 14, the  Liberal party emerged victorious with a convincing margin.

Dix left the B.C. legislature in July saying he would be taking time to reflect on his political future.

Since then, there has been little information forthcoming from Dix, but others within the NDP have been publicly calling for him to signal he was preparing to step down.

Earlier this week, a group of New Democrats calling themselves Forward BC NDP announced they were seeking to modernize and rebuild the party.

They hope to influence the selection of party delegates voting at the NDP's Vancouver convention in November, which will see the election of a new party executive and could prompt a party leadership race.

One of the leading contenders to replace Dix could be NDP finance critic Mike Farnworth.

When asked on Tuesday morning about making run for the NDP leadership, Farnworth said it was too early to say, but did point out he finished second to Dix in the last leadership race.

Adrian Dix wins B.C. NDP leadership

With files from The Canadian Press