Andrew Wilkinson

As the 40th Parliament of British Columbia began, Premier Christy Clark appointed Wilkinson as the Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services on June 10, 2013.[15] In that role, he oversaw the closure of the Queen's Printer in favour of contracting the services from privately-owned printers[16] and the designing of the BC Services Card to combine drivers' licenses and CareCards.[17] On December 17, 2014, Premier Clark had Wilkinson and Amrik Virk switch positions and Wilkinson became the new Minister of Advanced Education.[18] In this role, he introduced his first two bills, both on February 11, 2015. The Chartered Professional Accountants Act (Bill 4) merged chartered accountants, certified general accountants and management accountants into one professional regulatory body. The Private Training Act (Bill 7) repealed the 37th Parliament's Private Career Training Institutions Act and moved regulation to the Private Training Institutions Branch of the Ministry of Advanced Education, ending the industry's ability to self-regulate.[19] In 2016, he introduced one final bill before the parliament ended, the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act which requires all public post-secondary institutions establish a sexual misconduct policy.[20]

During his time as Advanced Education Minister, Wilkinson oversaw the creation of 19,000 full-time equivalent spaces for in-demand training and education in British Columbia. His ministry committed over a billion dollars for infrastructure upgrades to B.C. post-secondary schools. He also targeted government investments at increasing access to skilled trades programs, adding 3,730 new seats in schools throughout the province. Additionally, as a strong advocate for access to post-secondary education, he created the BC Completion Grant for Graduates and expanded the BC Loan Forgiveness Program to help students get out of debt faster. In 2015, as Minister of Advanced Education, Wilkinson told a CBC interviewer that "...70 per cent of students go through their higher education with no debt whatsoever,". That fact was quickly refuted by the Canadian Federation of Students who pointed to a B.C. Stats report from 2013 which recorded that, in fact, 51% of students leave post-secondary debt-free.[21]

Following a January, 2017 article in The New York Times entitled "British Columbia: The 'Wild West' of Canadian Political Cash"[22] Wilkinson was delegated to speak on behalf of the BC Liberal party, saying: "No one gets special treatment by being a campaign donor," and "It's a system that works." Wilkinson himself hosted a $1000-per-plate fundraiser in September 2014 in his riding of Vancouver-Quilchena.[23]

Wilkinson sought re-election in the 2017 election but was challenged by youth activist Madeline Lalonde for the BC NDP, accountant Michael Barkusky for the Green Party, and Libertarian William Morrison. With over 50% of the vote Wilkinson easily won re-election The BC Liberal Party won a small majority of the seats thus the Green Party and the NDP Party used their combined minority of seats to form the subsequent government. Incoming Premier John Horgan appointed fellow Vancouver MLA David Eby to replace Wilkinson as Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

Once the BC Liberal Party leadership election was underway to replace Christy Clark, who had announced her resignation on July 28, 2017, Wilkinson announced his candidacy on September 25. He made the announcement at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Coal Harbour with fellow BC Liberal MLAs Michelle Stilwell, Mary Polak and John Rustad, Doug Clovechok and Tom Shypitka who were immediately endorsing him.[24] He would be eventually endorsed by 13 MLAs, the most of any candidate. On the initial ballot he placed third, behind Dianne Watts and Michael Lee, but the contest was decided by ranked voting so that by the fifth and final ballot won with 53% and became leader of the BC Liberal Party and the official opposition on February 3, 2018.[25] At its subsequent annual convention, the party under Wilkinson unveiled a new brand identity with the slogan "Opportunity for All of B.C." to replace Clark's "Today's BC Liberals".[26]

In the 2018 British Columbia electoral reform referendum, the BC Liberal Party under Wilkinson's leadership registered third-party advertising sponsors to support retaining the existing First-past-the-post voting system and reject a proportional representation system.[27] On November 8 he participated in a province-wide televised debate against Premier John Horgan who argued in favour of proportional representation.[28] The result of the referendum was 61% in favour of continuing with the current first-past-the-post voting system.

In a speech in the legislature on February 27, 2019, Wilkinson said about renters: “I lived in a dozen different rentals. It was challenging at times. But it was fun. It’s part of growing up and getting better. We’ve all done it. It’s kind of a wacky time of life but it can be really enjoyable. Being a renter is a fact of life. It’s a rite of passage.”[29]

His speech was quickly criticized by renters who called his remarks out of touch.[30] NDP Housing Minister Selina Robinson pointed to his opposition to the BC NDP’s speculation tax and cap on rent increases as more proof that he wasn’t in touch with the experiences of renters.[31]

During the 41st Parliament Wilkinson sponsored several private member bills. On September 13, 2017, he introduced the Election Amendment Act, 2017 (Bill M-201) which proposed to ban corporate and union political donations, impose a $5,000 annual limit for political contributions by individuals, ban loans except from Canadian banks or credit unions and ban in-kind donations of staff. While the bill did not proceed, the provisions were adopted in a more comprehensive government bill, Election Amendment Act, 2017 (Bill 3) that same year.[32] On May 14, 2018, he introduced the Strata Pre-Sale Contract Flipping Tax Act, 2018 (Bill M-217) which sought to make 50% of the profit made in selling a condominium before it is available for occupancy subject to income tax. Again, while the bill did not proceed, the government, in Real Estate Development Marketing Amendment Act, 2018 (Bill 25), that same year made these contracts subject to the property transfer tax.[33]