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Dianne Watts is ready to come home and she wants to be premier.

Watts has scheduled a news conference for Sunday afternoon at Surrey’s Guildford Hotel, where she will announce her candidacy for leadership of the B.C. Liberal Party.

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The Conservative MP and former Surrey mayor was careful not to confirm her intentions before everything becomes official.

“I’ll have more to say on Sunday,” is all she would say about the Liberal leadership vacated by deposed premier Christy Clark.

But other key sources assured me that Watts, 57, is in.

And, in an exclusive interview, she made clear her own hopes and plans for British Columbia, as she prepares to step down as the MP for South Surrey-White Rock for a dazzling entry into B.C. politics.

“I love British Columbia,” Watts told me. “I really care about this province. And I’m concerned about where we’re headed.”

The divorced mom of two adult daughters is one of the most popular politicians to ever come out of Surrey, where she won three terms as mayor, the last time getting an amazing 80 per cent of the votes.