The next leader of the BC Liberal Party will be Andrew Wilkinson.

Wilkinson won the leadership after five ballots at Saturday’s party leadership contest in Vancouver. He claimed 53 per cent of the vote on the final ballot, outlasting former Surrey mayor and Conservative MP Dianne Watts.

Six candidates were vying for the chance to succeed former premier Christy Clark, who resigned leadership of the party after New Democrat and Green Party MLAs defeated her government in a confidence vote over the summer.

Three of the leadership candidates - Wilkinson, Mike de Jong, and Todd Stone - were longtime members of Clark’s cabinet.

Two others, Watts and Sam Sullivan, are former mayors of Surrey and Vancouver, respectively.

Mike Lee, a Vancouver-based lawyer who was elected to the legislature in May, was the only candidate without cabinet or mayoral experience. He was eliminated on the fourth ballot, outlasting party insiders de Jong and Stone.

Sullivan was eliminated on the first ballot, collecting only 1.82 per cent of the vote.

De Jong was eliminated on the second ballot, with 16.51 per cent of the vote. The former finance minister had faced criticism during the campaign for his tight-fisted control of the province’s purse strings, which some of his former cabinet colleagues said prevented the government from introducing more programs aimed at easing financial pressures for people in the province.

Stone was eliminated on the third ballot, with 20.29 per cent of the vote.

Lee was eliminated on the fourth ballot, with 32.56 per cent of the vote - just a fraction of a percentage point behind Wilkinson’s 32.89 per cent.

Watts led from the start, capturing 24.54 per cent of the vote on the first ballot and maintaining the lead until the final ballot, when Wilkinson surged to victory.

The BC Liberals are not affiliated with the federal Liberal Party. The party describes itself as “a free-enterprise coalition,” and includes members of both the federal Liberal and Conservative parties.

An estimated 60,000 party members were eligible to vote online and by phone in the leadership race. The party used a preferential ballot system that allowed its members to rank candidates, awarding them points based on their support.

Wilkinson will be tasked with leading the party back to power after seeing its 16-year government fall over the summer.

The next provincial election is scheduled to be held on or before May 11, 2021.

With files from The Canadian Press