EDITORIAL · LORNE DOERKSON · THE OUTDOORSMAN

B.C.’s next premier could be a rodeo rider who stood on the fire line. Meet Lorne Doerkson, the Cariboo outdoorsman.

The interim Conservative leader has spent his life on Cariboo-Chilcotin ground: thrown from a bucking horse in the 1990s, calling rodeos and helping run the Stampede, riding the backcountry trails and, by his own account, standing on the front line of the Flat Lake fire. We judge candidates on how they live as well as what they say. Here is his life on the land, his own words on access, and his record beside David Eby’s.

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Backcountry Coalition is independent. This article is not authorized by any party or candidate.

In the 1990s, Lorne Doerkson rode bareback. On a horse named Kung Fu, which he remembers as “huge,” his hand slipped out of the rigging. “It bucked just as my hand let go of the rigging,” he told Black Press Media in September. The fall knocked him out, burst an eardrum, dislocated his shoulder and broke his collarbone, and the other riders gathered round to keep the horse off him.01

Three decades later he leads the Conservative Party of BC into the 24 October election. We judge candidates on how they live as well as on what they say, because a person’s background, interests and culture tell you what they will defend when nobody is asking. Doerkson’s background is the Cariboo-Chilcotin outdoors: the rodeo arena, the Stampede grounds, ranch country, the trails, the lakes and, in 2017 and 2021, the fire. He calls the region “first and foremost my home. It has been for 30 years.”02 This is that life on the land, his own words on access and recreation, his record in the fire seasons, and how it all compares with David Eby’s.

Lorne Doerkson, interim leader of the Conservative Party of BC and MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin: a headshot in a dark suit and pale yellow tie against a blue ground with the legislature dome behind him.
Lorne Doerkson Cariboo-Chilcotin · elected 2020 · interim Conservative leader, 2026
In the saddle
Bareback rider in the 1990s
In the arena
Stampede vice-president; rodeo announcer; 2019 Stampede volunteer of the year
On the land
“I am an outdoorsman”; rode the 108 ATV Club’s trail to Helena Lake in 2025
On the fire line
Stampede grounds, 2017; “the front line” of the Flat Lake fire, 2021
On access
“The fear is access.”
Leader
Interim leader from 21 September 2026
Portrait · Conservative Party of BC candidate page
Open rolling grassland under a wide sky, dotted with stands of pine and aspen around a small lake: ranch country in the Cariboo-Chilcotin.
Cattle country in the Cariboo-Chilcotin, the riding Doerkson has represented since 2020. Photo by David Stanley, September 2021, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.03

01 The outdoorsman: a rider, an announcer and a voice for the people who work the land

Doerkson was born in New Westminster. The Williams Lake Tribune dates his arrival in Williams Lake, to run the paper, to around 2005, and he has said the region has been his home for 30 years.0402 He worked for Black Press newspapers until 2011.01 Out of office hours, his life has run through the arena and the backcountry.

In the saddle

In 2019 the Tribune described him as “a bareback rider in the BC Rodeo Association” in his early years.04 In the House in February 2024, defending rural emergency rooms, he put it in his own words: “Something you might not know about me is that for a number of years, I competed in rodeos, rode horses bareback, and I wasn’t very good at it. You fall, you hurt yourself, and you break bones. I’ve been in a lot of hospitals.”05

Lorne Doerkson at a lectern in a blue suit and tie, with the British Columbia flag behind him, at a campaign announcement on 28 September 2026.
Doerkson on the campaign, 28 September 2026. Photo by RoyalObserver via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.03

In the arena

Out of the saddle, he stayed in the arena. His caucus biography lists him as a past “Vice-President of the Williams Lake Stampede” and “a familiar voice announcing high school rodeos, Little Britches rodeos, and numerous local events.”06 His party calls him a “rodeo announcer”, and in 2019 the Stampede Association named him its volunteer of the year.07 He told the Tribune then that the Let ’R Buck, where he worked on Stampede weekend, is “the gathering spot of the Cariboo.”04 In the House in 2022 he described himself as “somebody who has spent countless hours in the Williams Lake Stampede arena and volunteering for that rodeo.”08

“The stampede is more than just a rodeo. It’s a reflection of who we are — resilient, proud and deeply connected to the land and to one another.”

Lorne Doerkson · Members’ statement · Hansard, Issue 94, 30 October 2025

In the same statement he said that each Stampede Saturday he stands before “more than 5,000 cheering spectators” to welcome them to the Cariboo-Chilcotin.05 In 2024 and 2025 he introduced the new B.C. Cowboy Hall of Fame inductees at the Spring Classic indoor rodeo in Williams Lake, and in 2024 he told the House that their stories “are the foundations on which many a young person has learned the lifestyle and the love of the land.”09

On the trails and the water

He has used the plainest possible words for himself. In October 2021, speaking to the forests bill, he said:

“I am an outdoorsman, and I’ve watched the Cariboo-Chilcotin change over the last number of years. … There are pine trees that are lying like matchsticks in our backwoods, in our backcountry.”

Lorne Doerkson · Bill 23 debate · Hansard, Issue 116, 26 October 2021

In that speech he warned that deactivated roads are often badly marked, and that an unmarked “tank trap” “could honestly end in loss of life.”10 Two years later he told the House why it was personal: a friend of his had been hurt in a tank trap “while snowmobiling and trying to access the back country.”11 In August 2025 he rode the Gold Rush Snowmobile Trail out to Helena Lake on the 108 ATV Club’s MLA Ride. “It was beautiful,” he said, and the talk on the trail was “about multi-use trail and having some respect out in the bush for other users on the landscape.”12

A forested valley of spruce and pine with pale clay banks and a trail along the valley floor.
The River Valley trail at Williams Lake, whose flood-damaged bridges he thanked the Province for repairing in 2023.11 Photo by Globalphotobank, 2018, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.03
A long blue lake seen from a high lookout under a bright sun, with fire-killed trees standing on the ridge in the foreground.
Canim Lake from the southern lookout. He has tabled a petition on the Canim Lake South and Mahood Lake roads.13 Photo by Koltonsmith, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.03

He is a booster for the lakes. In 2023 he told the House that the Cariboo-Chilcotin is “home to some of the best fishing anywhere,” and urged members to drive Highway 24, “known to many as the Fishing Highway.”14 In May 2026 he was still selling it: “Now, let me tell you a secret about the Fishing Highway. The fish are huge, and they are biting.” He named the fishing derbies at Deka, Sulphurous and Sheridan lakes.15 In a birthday greeting to his granddaughter in December 2025, he said: “I can’t wait until our annual camping trip.”16

Hunting, trapping and wildlife

His House record on hunting is the record of a man who watches the bush closely. In June 2021, questioning the end of the grizzly bear hunt, he said: “I could take you to a fairly active game camera that would show you grizzly bears in a place that they just have not been flourishing, and now they seem to be pretty prevalent.” He asked, more than once, what science the decision had been based on.17 In February 2022 he told the House that wildlife was “near and dear to many people in my riding”: “When we make decisions about limited-entry hunting in the Peace regions, when we make decisions about grizzly bear hunting or anything else in this province, we cannot listen to different special interest groups. We have to pay attention to the science.”18

He has spoken for the trapline as well. In April 2023 he told the minister that the proposed rule putting all larger traps in fisher exclusion boxes would “render all of their traps useless,” and that “these options are not going to work on the landscape.”19 In June 2021 he pressed the forests minister to let guide-outfitters carry pandemic-lost quota forward, because “some of these individuals and their businesses are near bankruptcy.”20 In 2025 he honoured a Williams Lake couple whose cow moose sign project had the backing of the Guide Outfitters Association of B.C., the B.C. Trappers Association and Hunters for B.C.21 In a May 2025 column he wrote that under Bill 14 “guide outfitter, hunting, angling, and other Wildlife Act licenses can be suspended or cancelled indefinitely, without any chance for a hearing, appeal, or compensation,” and called for amendments.22

Ranch country

Irrigated green hayfields in a broad valley with ranch buildings beneath dry, open hills.
The headquarters of the historic Gang Ranch, west of the Fraser River in the Cariboo. Photo by The Interior, 2013, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.03

Ranch country is where his fire record begins. In 2017, as the fires closed in on Williams Lake, the Stampede grounds took in horses and stock from evacuated properties. “In some cases, residents actually stopped to pick up your horse or mine or whatever and just drop it off at the stampede grounds,” he told the House, and when owners could not get trailers back in, fire crews were “simply painting a name on the side of a horse with a spray can and letting it go.”23 He has argued for ranch equipment to be used against fire: “I am always shocked … at just how much equipment is on the landscape at a ranch.”23 And he asked for the words “and forage” to be added to a forests bill for ranchers, for trappers “and backwoods users, in general.”21

02 A life on the land, year by year

Every entry below is drawn from Hansard, his party and caucus pages, or the regional press, and each is cited in the article above or below.

1990s
  • RodeoRides bareback in the BC Rodeo Association. Thrown from a horse named Kung Fu, he is knocked out and breaks his collarbone.
c. 2005
  • Williams LakeComes to Williams Lake to publish the Williams Lake Tribune. In the years before office he is a Stampede volunteer, director and vice-president, and a rodeo announcer.
2010
  • FirePhotographs the Meldrum Creek fire as the Tribune’s publisher.
2017
  • FireFills borrowed stock troughs at the Stampede grounds for evacuated horses and livestock, then is evacuated himself. His family is separated on the drive out.
  • ReliefLeads the Stampede Association’s wildfire relief fundraiser that autumn.
2019
  • StampedeNamed the Williams Lake Stampede Association’s volunteer of the year.
2020
  • OfficeElected MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin.
2021
  • WildlifeJune: asks what science ended the grizzly hunt, and for guide-outfitter quota relief.
  • FireJuly: calls for a state of emergency. In the Flat Lake fire, by his own account, he is “on the front line.”
  • BackcountryOctober: “I am an outdoorsman.” Warns that unmarked tank traps could kill.
2022
  • HuntingFebruary: asks that hunting decisions follow the science, and questions the moose counts in his riding.
2023
  • TrappingApril: speaks for trappers against fisher boxes that would make their traps useless.
  • FishingApril: “some of the best fishing anywhere.”
  • AccessNovember: a friend hurt snowmobiling in a road tank trap.
2024
  • AccessFebruary: on Crown land, “The fear is access.”
  • RodeoFebruary: “I competed in rodeos, rode horses bareback.” May: introduces the Cowboy Hall of Fame class and tables Carter’s Law.
2025
  • LicencesMay: writes that Bill 14 puts hunting, angling and guiding licences at risk.
  • TrailsAugust: rides the Gold Rush Snowmobile Trail to Helena Lake with the 108 ATV Club.
  • StampedeOctober: the Stampede is “deeply connected to the land.”
2026
  • Crown landMay: tables Bill M247, the Crown Land and Financial Transparency Act.
  • FireAugust: calls for every resource for the South Cariboo, and drives a camper of donations to Clinton.
  • LeaderSeptember: interim leader of the Conservative Party of BC. October: a wildfire plan.

03 In his own words, on access and recreation

These are his words, verbatim, on getting onto the land and using it. Each is cited to the place he said or wrote it.

“The fear is access. … The second you put your kayak in your car and come … anywhere to recreate, you are crossing Crown land, and we don’t want that to be in jeopardy in any way.”

Land Act · Northern Beat · 2 Feb 202424

“We have access to some of the most amazingly beautiful places, like Tweedsmuir Park and others, which offer spectacular scenery, hiking and back-country activities.”

Tourism · Hansard · 24 Apr 202314

“It is not just the cattle producers that rely on this forage but our trappers, of course, that use our range country as well — and backwoods users, in general.”

Range · Hansard · 18 Nov 202121

“… that individual actually had an accident while snowmobiling and trying to access the back country.”

Deactivated roads · Hansard · 6 Nov 202311

“… guide outfitter, hunting, angling, and other Wildlife Act licenses can be suspended or cancelled indefinitely, without any chance for a hearing, appeal, or compensation.”

Bill 14 · Williams Lake Tribune · 18 May 202522

“… about multi-use trail and having some respect out in the bush for other users on the landscape.”

Trails · Williams Lake Tribune · 20 Aug 202512

“Residents in our province have spent the last decade watching rights regarding Crown property placed at risk, whether it be docks in Pender Harbour, guide-outfitting rights in the Tatlayoko Valley or ranchers losing tenure on Crown grazing lands.”

Bill M247 · Hansard · 26 May 202625

“Not just the expense of fighting fires year after year, but the losses in our timber … the losses of wildlife, the loss of the tourism industry.”

Wildfire · 100 Mile Free Press · 4 Oct 202602

His House record on the roads that reach the backcountry is older than his leadership. In November 2021, in committee on the forests bill, he asked whether declaring a road a forest service road would bring “any new investments or more money for the maintenance of those forest service roads.” The minister answered: “That is not identified anywhere in this bill.”26 In April 2024 he warned that “as many as 17 roads” could be deactivated in the Cariboo in a year, making it harder to reach a fire, and in February 2025 he told the House that for fire crews heading “an hour up a dirt road,” finding the road deactivated “is very frightening.”27 He has tabled petitions for rural roads in his riding, including the Canim Lake South and Mahood Lake roads in April 2026.13

In May 2026, now a Conservative, he tabled Bill M247, the Crown Land and Financial Transparency Act. It would require the minister to publish each year every disposition of Crown land and tenure, including tenures for range use and guide-outfitting, with sale prices and the new holders, and it would set up a legislative committee to review those transfers. It is a private member’s bill and passed first reading.25 His party’s Policy Declaration says that British Columbians “deserve guaranteed access to public lands and wild areas, including hunting and fishing rights.”28 In our survey of every candidate on the 24 October ballot, he is rated as having acted on public access.

04 On the fire line and in the House: the Cariboo’s fire seasons since 2017

When the 2017 fires cut the power across the Cariboo, Doerkson was at the Williams Lake Stampede grounds filling water troughs for the animals that evacuees had brought in. “We stole; we borrowed; we took every trough that we could within a ten-mile radius,” he later told the Legislature. Then the evacuation order reached him as well, and he could not get back in to finish.29 He held no office then. That autumn he led the Stampede Association’s wildfire relief fundraiser for the groups the fires had cost their own events.30 He was elected for Cariboo-Chilcotin in 2020, and on 21 September 2026 he became interim leader of the Conservative Party of BC.31

His first fire as a witness was in 2010, when he photographed the Meldrum Creek fire as the Tribune’s publisher. In 2017 his family was separated in the evacuation and the drive to Kamloops took almost eight hours.23 Since his election he has raised the Cariboo’s fire seasons in the House and in public, and the record below sets out what he asked for and what followed.

A satellite view of forested plateau and brown burn scars, with four tall white smoke plumes blowing north from active fires.
Wildfires near Williams Lake and Meldrum Creek on 8 July 2017, seen by the Sentinel-2 satellite. Image by Pierre Markuse, containing modified Copernicus Sentinel data, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.03
A state of emergencyWilliams Lake Tribune · BC Gov NewsJuly 2021
What he did

On 5 July he asked for a provincial state of emergency so “we can get more resources, we can get federal help.” The public safety minister said one was not needed that day.32

What followed

On 20 July the province declared one, so that “federal, provincial and local resources can be delivered in a co-ordinated response.”33

Ranchers and local knowledgeHansard · Issues 104 and 113October 2021
What he did

He asked the Premier when ranchers like the Cunninghams would get their burned Crown fencing replaced, then moved Motion 17, which said: “We need to better utilize local and Indigenous knowledge.”34

What followed

In September 2023 Premier Eby set up an expert task force on emergencies, and said that the province “could be doing a better job of leveraging local knowledge and expertise.”35

Crews left on the sidelinesHansard · Issue 333October 2023
What he did

Leading his caucus on the new emergency management law, he described two 100 Mile House contractors with “three or four water tenders sitting there” who were phoning their MLA because nobody had called them. He also told the House that his Rotary club and a noon-hour Rotary club had raised the money for three trailers for the West Chilcotin, each carrying a water cube, hose and tools that any truck could take to a fire zone.23

What followed

He called the new task force short of “rural representation”. By December 2024 the Wildfire Service was working in partnership with trained members of local communities.35

A full overhaul, and Carter’s LawHansard · Issues 421 and 436April and May 2024
What he did

He asked for a bigger air fleet, a full-time fire service, local contractors for rapid attack and money for unfunded volunteer departments. Then he tabled Carter’s Law, named for a nine-year-old from 100 Mile House who died of an asthma attack in wildfire smoke.36

What followed

Carter’s Law was a private member’s bill, and it did not become law.

The South Cariboo, againCFJC · BC Gov News · TribuneAugust 2026
What he did

On 1 August he asked the Premier to “deploy every available resource to the South Cariboo immediately.”37 On 22 August he drove a camper full of donations to Clinton, after the Pear Lake fire had destroyed, by his estimate, 126 structures there.38

What followed

The province declared a provincial state of emergency on 8 August, a week after his call.39 In his newspaper column eleven days later, he called the delay “irresponsible and unnecessary.”40

He has also said where he stood when it mattered. Of the Flat Lake fire of 2021, which ran from 70 Mile to the 108, he told the House in May 2026: “I know because I was on the front line of that fire.”41 On 2 October, as leader, he put a wildfire plan in front of voters: new water bombers, fuel reduction around communities, faster approval for prescribed burns and a fund for early detection.42

“I’ve seen the terror of wildfires up close. Families have lost everything they spent their lives building. … No family should have to live through this again.”

Lorne Doerkson · Conservative Party of BC release · 2 October 2026

05 What the record does not show yet

The record is strong, and it has gaps a fair reader should see. Most of his access work in the House dates from his BC Liberal and BC United years, when he was a critic. Since November 2024 he has also served as Assistant Deputy Speaker, a chair role that took him out of the critic’s seat.31 Bill M247 is his one Crown land bill as a Conservative, and it is about transparency in land and tenure transfers, not about keeping roads open for the public.25 Of the releases his party posted between 23 September and 8 October, none mentions hunting, angling, Crown land or backcountry roads.43 The written promise to “reactivate any unnecessary closures” was made by Kerry-Lynne Findlay on 31 July, and he has not yet repeated that promise in his own name.44

His outdoor life is well documented in the arena and in the House, and less so elsewhere. We found no public record that he belongs to the BC Wildlife Federation or a rod-and-gun club, or that he holds a guide-outfitter licence or a trapline; in the House he has cited the federation’s warnings about invasive mussels.45 His public Facebook page could not be read without signing in, so his posts are not part of this record.

The province has scheduled approximately 556 kilometres of permanent forest service road deactivation in the Cariboo-Chilcotin district over the next two fiscal years, and we found no position from him on it.46 On fire, no source credits a declaration to his call, and the 2026 emergency was triggered by the Bald Range fire at Summerland.39 An opposition member can ask, move and table. The test of a premier is what gets built, what gets funded and which roads are kept open.

06 Beside David Eby, the difference is the backcountry

David Eby has been premier since November 2022. As premier he holds the power that Doerkson could only ask for, and he used it, declaring provincial emergencies in August 2023 and August 2026.47 His record on the other two measures is thinner. The full scoring of both leaders is in where the parties stand.

The two men who could be premier, on the same three measures
Measure Lorne Doerkson David Eby
An outdoor life on the record Bareback rider, rodeo announcer, Stampede vice-president and, in his words, “an outdoorsman”; on the trails, the lakes and the fire line Skiing and cycling, from his MLA biography; no record of backcountry use found48
In the fire seasons Called for emergencies in 2021 and 2026, moved Motion 17 and tabled Carter’s Law Declared emergencies in 2023 and 2026, set up a task force, and pledged $20 million for uninsured families
On access to Crown land “The fear is access,” and questions on road money and deactivation Asked about the Land Act with backcountry users named, he answered on reconciliation49
His party’s written position “Guaranteed access to public lands and wild areas,” in the 2025 Policy Declaration “More access to B.C. Parks,” a heading defined by parks, protected areas and new campsites50

Portraits · the Conservative Party of BC and BC NDP candidate pages, 2026

That comparison should be read fairly. Eby’s fire record is a governing record, and after 2023 his government brought trained local people into the Wildfire Service, which is what Doerkson had asked for. We found no public statement from Eby on forest service roads, hunting or angling access. Doerkson has the stronger record on the backcountry, and he has not yet turned it into a promise.

07 Ask everyone on your ballot where they stand on access

A record is a reason to ask, not a reason to stop asking. Put these three questions to every candidate on your ballot before 24 October, in person or in writing:

Will you keep the forest service roads we use open and maintained?Doerkson asked in 2021 whether new roads came with money for maintenance. The answer was that it was not in the bill.

Before a road is deactivated, will the reasons be published?About 556 kilometres are scheduled in the Cariboo-Chilcotin district alone.

Will you repeat the promise to reactivate unnecessary closures in your own name?The promise was made on 31 July 2026, and the leader who made it has resigned.

The letter below sends all three questions to every registered party at once, wherever you vote. Every candidate’s record is set out in every candidate, rated on public access.

Share this story

Six images that carry this story on their own: who Lorne Doerkson is outdoors, what he did in each fire season, his words on access, and how he compares with David Eby. Made to be posted and shared.

Suggested caption

B.C.’s next premier could be a rodeo rider who stood on the fire line. Meet Lorne Doerkson, the Cariboo outdoorsman.

In the 1990s he rode bareback, until a horse named Kung Fu threw him hard enough to break his collarbone. He went on to announce high school and Little Britches rodeos and to serve as vice-president of the Williams Lake Stampede. In the House he has called himself “an outdoorsman.”

He has spoken for hunters on the grizzly and moose decisions, for trappers on fisher boxes, and for guide-outfitters on quota. In May 2025 he wrote that Bill 14 put hunting, angling and guiding licences at risk. That August he rode the Gold Rush Snowmobile Trail to Helena Lake with the 108 ATV Club.

In 2017 he filled water troughs for evacuated animals at the Stampede grounds. Of the 2021 Flat Lake fire he says: “I was on the front line of that fire.”

On 5 July 2021 he asked for a provincial state of emergency. One was declared on 20 July. He moved a motion that fall to use “local and Indigenous knowledge” against fire, tabled Carter’s Law on wildfire smoke in 2024, and on 1 August 2026 asked for every available resource for the South Cariboo.

On Crown land in 2024: “The fear is access.”

What he has not said yet: his predecessor promised to reactivate unnecessary road closures, and he has not repeated it in his own name. About 556 km of forest service road are scheduled for deactivation in his own district.

Beside him, David Eby declared the emergencies in 2023 and 2026. We found no record of Eby on forest service roads, hunting or angling access.

Ask everyone on your ballot where they stand on access before 24 October.

backcountry.cx/editorials/lorne-doerkson-backcountry-wildfire/

#BCpoli #Cariboo #WilliamsLake #PublicLand #BCWildfire

Sources

  1. ↩ Black Press Media, Mark Page, 24 September 2026, “Former rodeo rider Doerkson seeks to buck-off Eby in B.C. election” — his bareback years in the 1990s, the fall from the horse named Kung Fu, and “It bucked just as my hand let go of the rigging.” The article’s two photographs of the fall are credited “Photo courtesy Lorne Doerkson” and are described, not reproduced, on this page. Link
  2. ↩ 100 Mile Free Press, Barbara Roden, 4 October 2026, “BC Conservative Party leader Lorne Doerkson hits campaign trail in Cariboo-Chilcotin” — his remarks in Cache Creek on the wildfire season, and on the Cariboo-Chilcotin as “first and foremost my home. It has been for 30 years.” Link
  3. ↩ Photographs, all from Wikimedia Commons and used under their licences. “Cattle Country” and “Farwell Canyon,” David Stanley, 2021, CC BY 2.0; “Canim Lake Lookout,” Koltonsmith, 2022, CC BY-SA 4.0; “River Valley trail Williams Lake BC,” Globalphotobank, 2018, CC BY-SA 4.0; “GangRanchWide,” The Interior, 2013, CC BY-SA 4.0; “Wildfires near Williams Lake and Meldrum Creek,” 8 July 2017, Pierre Markuse, CC BY 2.0, containing modified Copernicus Sentinel data; and “Lorne Doerkson on September 28 2026,” RoyalObserver, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped by us. Our crops of the CC BY-SA images are shared under the same licence. Cattle Country · Farwell Canyon · Canim Lake · River Valley trail · Gang Ranch · 2017 fires · Doerkson, 2026
  4. ↩ Williams Lake Tribune, Greg Sabatino, 30 April 2019, “Lorne Doerkson recognized as Stampede volunteer of the year” — born in New Westminster, publisher of the Tribune from around 2005, “a bareback rider in the BC Rodeo Association,” and a past Stampede Association director. Link
  5. ↩ Hansard, 27 February 2024, Issue 384 (budget debate): “for a number of years, I competed in rodeos, rode horses bareback, and I wasn’t very good at it”; and 30 October 2025, Issue 94, on the Williams Lake Stampede and the “more than 5,000 cheering spectators” he welcomes each Saturday. 2024 · 2025
  6. ↩ Conservative Caucus of BC, “Lorne Doerkson,” MLA page, Internet Archive snapshot of 27 August 2026 — his volunteer roles including “Vice-President of the Williams Lake Stampede,” and “a familiar voice announcing high school rodeos, Little Britches rodeos, and numerous local events.” Link
  7. ↩ Conservative Party of BC, candidate page, “Lorne Doerkson,” read 10 October 2026 — “Rotary president, rodeo announcer, and avid volunteer, voted Stampede volunteer of the year in 2019,” and “a long-time Cariboo resident who has spent close to thirty years in the communities he represents.” Link
  8. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Third Session, Issue 246, 2 November 2022, Bill 42 debate, 4:25 p.m. — “as somebody who has spent countless hours in the Williams Lake Stampede arena and volunteering for that rodeo.” Link
  9. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Fifth Session, Issue 430, 7 May 2024, members’ statement on the B.C. Cowboy Hall of Fame inductees; and 43rd Parliament, First Session, Issue 56, 6 May 2025, on introducing the 2025 inductees at the Spring Classic. 2024 · 2025
  10. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Second Session, Issue 116, 26 October 2021, second reading of Bill 23, the Forests Statutes Amendment Act, 2021, 3:25 p.m. — “I am an outdoorsman”, and on unmarked tank traps that “could honestly end in loss of life.” Link
  11. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Fourth Session, Issue 356, 6 November 2023, Bill 42 — “I have a friend who was hurt quite seriously in a what we refer to as a tank trap, which is a deactivation of a road, where that individual actually had an accident while snowmobiling and trying to access the back country.” Link
  12. ↩ Williams Lake Tribune, Patrick Davies, 20 August 2025, “‘It was beautiful’: Politicians take to the back country with 108 ATV Club” — the club’s MLA Ride on the Gold Rush Snowmobile Trail on 14 August, and his ride to Helena Lake. Link
  13. ↩ Hansard, 43rd Parliament — First Session, Issue 84, 21 October 2025, petitions on the Spout Lake Road area and the 103 Mile area; and Second Session, Issue 151, 14 April 2026, a petition from 94 residents on the Canim Lake South Road and Mahood Lake Road. 2025 · 2026
  14. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Fourth Session, Issue 310, 24 April 2023, statement for Tourism Week, 11:05 a.m. — fishing, hunting, back-country activities and the Stampede. Link
  15. ↩ Hansard, 43rd Parliament, Second Session, Issue 182, 25 May 2026, members’ statement inviting the House to visit Cariboo-Chilcotin. Link
  16. ↩ Hansard, 43rd Parliament, First Session, Issue 111, 1 December 2025, introductions — a birthday greeting to his granddaughter that mentions “our annual camping trip.” Link
  17. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Second Session, Issue 91, 10 June 2021, forests ministry estimates, 1:55–3:15 p.m. — his questions on predators, antlerless moose and the end of the grizzly bear hunt, including the game camera. Link
  18. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Third Session, Issue 159, 28 February 2022, budget debate, near 5:00 p.m. — on wildlife, limited-entry hunting, the grizzly bear hunt and moose numbers in his riding. Link
  19. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Fourth Session, Issue 297, 3 April 2023, 3:25 p.m. — his question on the proposed 2023 licensed trapping regulations and fisher exclusion boxes. Link
  20. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Second Session, Issue 91, 10 June 2021, estimates of the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, 2:15–2:30 p.m. — his questions on guide-outfitter quota, and Hon. Katrine Conroy’s answers that variations are handled “on a case-by-case basis.” Link
  21. ↩ Hansard, 18 November 2021, Issue 133 (Bill 23, committee), asking for the words “and forage”; and 19 February 2025, Issue 3, members’ statement on the Cow Moose Sign Project, naming the Guide Outfitters Association of B.C., the B.C. Trappers Association and Hunters for B.C. 2021 · 2025
  22. ↩ Williams Lake Tribune, Lorne Doerkson, 18 May 2025, “MLA’S CORNER: NDP overreach threatens guide outfitting, fishing, trapping in Cariboo-Chilcotin” — his column on Bill 14, the Renewable Energy Projects (Streamlined Permitting) Act, and its effect on Wildlife Act licences. Link
  23. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Fourth Session, Issue 333, 4 October 2023, second reading of Bill 31, the Emergency and Disaster Management Act, in which he spoke as his caucus’s designated speaker — the 2010 Meldrum Creek fire, when he was publisher of the Tribune; his family’s 2017 evacuation; the two 100 Mile House contractors with water tenders who had not been called; and the three water-cube trailers for the West Chilcotin that his Rotary club and a noon-hour Rotary club raised the money for. Link
  24. ↩ Northern Beat, Rob Shaw, 2 February 2024 — Doerkson, then the BC United critic, on the proposed Land Act amendments: “The fear is access.” Link
  25. ↩ Hansard, 43rd Parliament, Second Session, Issue 184, 26 May 2026, 10:30 a.m., first reading of Bill M247, the Crown Land and Financial Transparency Act, moved by Lorne Doerkson. A private member’s bill; it passed first reading. Link
  26. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Second Session, Issue 130, 16 November 2021, committee on Bill 23 — his question at 4:30 p.m. and the answer from Hon. Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests. Link
  27. ↩ Hansard, 2 April 2024, Issue 402, Emergency Management and Climate Readiness estimates, 11:20 a.m.; and 25 February 2025, Issue 9, throne speech debate. 2024 · 2025
  28. ↩ Conservative Party of BC, Policy Declaration, adopted at the annual general meeting in Nanaimo, 1 March 2025, §11.12(a), p. 13. PDF
  29. ↩ Hansard, 43rd Parliament, First Session, Issue 34, morning sitting of 7 April 2025, 11:35 a.m. — Lorne Doerkson in debate on Bill M208, the Emergency and Disaster Management Amendment Act, 2025, on volunteering at the Williams Lake Stampede grounds in 2017: “All I did was fill water troughs,” because “we were losing power throughout the entire region”; “We stole; we borrowed; we took every trough that we could within a ten-mile radius”; and “I got evacuated, and I couldn’t get back into the zone.” Link
  30. ↩ Williams Lake Tribune, Gaeil Farrar, 1 September 2017, “Stampede Association rallies to support community groups impacted by wildfires,” naming him one of the key organizers; and Angie Mindus, 24 October 2017, “Williams Lake Stampede Association volunteers appreciated for donations,” reporting that he spearheaded the event and that $44,000 was given away. September · October
  31. ↩ CBC News, Karin Larsen, 21 September 2026 — the party “has appointed Lorne Doerkson as interim leader,” recommended by the remaining caucus and approved by the board, after Kerry-Lynne Findlay stepped down on 20 September. The Tyee, Andrew MacLeod, 31 May 2024, on his move from BC United to the Conservatives. His service as Assistant Deputy Speaker from November 2024 is from the Legislative Assembly’s members index. CBC · Tyee
  32. ↩ Williams Lake Tribune, Melissa Smalley, 5 July 2021, “No state of emergency declaration for B.C.” — Doerkson: “The reason I’m calling for the state of emergency is that we can get more resources, we can get federal help”; and Minister Mike Farnworth: “A provincial state of emergency will be enacted if and when it’s required.” Link
  33. ↩ BC Gov News, 20 July 2021, “Provincial state of emergency declared” — declared by Mike Farnworth on the recommendation of the BC Wildfire Service and Emergency Management BC, effective 21 July. Link
  34. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Second Session — Issue 104, 7 October 2021, question period, “Assistance for ranchers impacted by wildfires”; and Issue 113, 25 October 2021, Motion 17, “Wildfire response and recovery,” moved by Lorne Doerkson. Issue 104 · Issue 113
  35. ↩ BC Gov News, 11 September 2023, the Premier’s Expert Task Force on Emergencies, with David Eby’s statement on local knowledge; Williams Lake Tribune, Fiona Grisswell, 13 October 2023, “Emergency task force lacks rural voice: critics,” quoting Doerkson; and BC Gov News, 29 December 2024, on the Wildfire Service “working in partnership with trained local community members.” 2023 · Tribune · 2024
  36. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Fifth Session — Issue 421, 29 April 2024, his private member’s statement on wildfires; and Issue 436, 13 May 2024, first reading of Bill M223, the Wildfire (Carter’s Law) Amendment Act, 2024. Issue 421 · Issue 436
  37. ↩ CFJC Today, Elora McCormack, 1 August 2026, “Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA calling for state of emergency in response to wildfires”; and Black Press Media, Josh Fischlin, 1 August 2026. CFJC · Black Press
  38. ↩ Williams Lake Tribune, Patrick Davies, 25 August 2026, “Clinton receives food, clothes and money from donors across British Columbia” — the 22 August delivery, and his estimate of 126 structures lost. Link
  39. ↩ BC Gov News, 8 August 2026, the Premier’s statement that a state of provincial emergency had been declared, citing the Bald Range fire near Summerland; and 21 August 2026, its extension to 29 August. 8 August · 21 August
  40. ↩ Williams Lake Tribune, Lorne Doerkson, 19 August 2026, “B.C. needs to be better equipped to respond to forest fires” — “I had been calling for it a week before the government made the decision.” Link
  41. ↩ Hansard, 43rd Parliament, Second Session, Issue 172, 5 May 2026, Bill 9 debate, on the 2021 Flat Lake fire: “I know because I was on the front line of that fire.” Link
  42. ↩ Conservative Party of BC, 2 October 2026, “Fighting Wildfires. Protecting Communities.” — the Wildfire Action Plan and both of his quoted statements. Link
  43. ↩ Conservative Party of BC, every release on its own site dated 23 September to 8 October 2026, read in full on 9 October. The one on wildfire is cited above; none mentions hunting, angling, Crown land or backcountry roads. Link
  44. ↩ Conservative Caucus of BC, 31 July 2026, “NDP Denies Access to Public Lands,” quoting Kerry-Lynne Findlay: “A B.C. Conservative government will reactivate any unnecessary closures and will repair roads where necessary.” Held in the Internet Archive snapshot of 31 August 2026. Link
  45. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Fifth Session, Issue 408, 8 April 2024, estimates, 5:15 p.m. — “the B.C. Wildlife Federation has been very aggressive in sharing information, not only about mussels.” Link
  46. ↩ Province of British Columbia, Cariboo-Chilcotin road safety information — “BCTS Road Deactivation Project #1 (fiscal years 2026-2027 and 2027-2028)”: approximately 556 km of permanent deactivation work on Forest Service Road sections in the Cariboo-Chilcotin Natural Resource District. A planning figure, not completed work. Link
  47. ↩ BC Gov News, 18 August 2023, provincial state of emergency, statement of the Premier and Minister Bowinn Ma; 8 August 2026, as cited above; and BC NDP, 2 October 2026, the pledge to match Canadian Red Cross donations up to $20 million for families affected by the wildfires. 2023 · 2026 pledge
  48. ↩ David Eby MLA, “About”, Internet Archive snapshot of 18 May 2026: “When he’s not working, David spends his free time skiing, riding bikes, and going to UBC Thunderbird basketball games with his family.” Searches of news coverage and of outdoor organisations found no record of hunting, angling or backcountry use. Link
  49. ↩ Hansard, 42nd Parliament, Fifth Session, Issue 378, 21 February 2024, 2:25–2:30 p.m., “Crown Land Legislation and Consultation Process” — John Rustad named “people who access the back country” among those pushing back on the Land Act changes; the Premier answered on reconciliation, Blueberry River, the Mineral Tenure Act and Tsilhqot’in. Link
  50. ↩ BC NDP, “Action for You”, read 9 October 2026 — the heading “More access to B.C. Parks,” defined as parks, recreation areas and protected areas and “over 2,000 new campsites since 2017.” The page does not mention forest service roads, hunting or angling. Link