The Fight HST campaign has launched its campaign to recall BC Liberals with a petition targeting cabinet minister Ida Chong.

Twenty ridings were selected to compete, reality-TV style, to see who could line up the most canvassers for the recall campaign that begins Nov. 22.

Former premier Bill Vander Zalm stood in front of B.C. Supreme Court to announce the five ridings that had signed up the most volunteers, winning them the right to distribute the first recall petitions under the banner of his anti-harmonized-sales-tax group.

"We won't stop until the HST is done with, gone, over," Vander Zalm said.

Chong, the minister of science and universities, will face a recall campaign in her Oak Bay-Gordon Head riding. Kamloops-North Thompson  and Comox Valley voters will have a chance to recall Terry Lake and Don McRae in January and Cariboo-Chilcotin and Saanich North campaigners will target Donna Barnett and Environment Minister Murray Coell in February.

Finance Minister Colin Hansen could face a recall campaign beginning in March in his Vancouver-Quilchena riding.

Vander Zalm said that volunteers from neighbouring ridings will jump in to help canvassers in the targeted area.

Fight HST says that it has signed up more than 5,500 canvassers across B.C., although more than half of those are not in the 20 targeted ridings.

The other candidates for recall are:

  • Minister for Children and Families Mary Polak, Langley
  • John Slater, Boundary-Similkameen
  • Marc Dalton, Maple Ridge-Mission
  • Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Bill Bennett, Kootenay East
  • Former solicitor general John Les, Chilliwack
  • Speaker of the House Bill Barisoff, Penticton
  • Steve Thomson, Kelowna-Mission
  • John Rustad, Nechako Lakes
  • Ron Cantelon, Parksville-Qualicum
  • Eric Foster, Vernon-Monashee
  • Norm Letnick, Kelowna-Lake Country
  • Jane Thornthwaite, North Vancouver-Seymour
  • Ben Stewart, Westside-Kelowna
  • Joan McIntyre, West Vancouver-Sea to Sky

After the initial three petitions are launched, a new recall campaign will begin every month in order of how many canvassers have signed up.

Under B.C.'s recall legislation, a by-election can be called if 40 per cent of voters in the riding sign their names to the petition.