Cranbrook’s Darrell Jones running for provincial conservative leadership
Published 4:18 pm Thursday, February 19, 2026
It was a homecoming for grocery executive Darrell Jones this week as he toured through Cranbrook while campaigning for the Conservative Party of B.C. leadership.
Jones grew up in Cranbrook and got his start in the business stocking shelves at the local Overwaitea — before the rebrand to Save-On-Foods — rising through company ranks over a 46-year career to become president of the Pattison Food Group.
During a media interview, Jones said he decided to step into the Conservative Party leadership race after former leader John Rustad resigned amid party board and caucus turmoil in December.
Jones leaned on his executive experience as president the Pattison Food Group for 13 years and lessons learned in business that he wants to apply to government.
“When I was running the food business, I discovered that the best way to be successful is to build a team,” Jones said. “What you have to do is spend time with each and every one of the MLAs that you have, understand that you care about them and believe in them.
“If you have someone that you work with, that you know cares about you and is going to listen to your thoughts…that’s how you build a team, that’s how you get consensus.
“Then you lay out a six month, one year, three year and five year plan. And if you don’t have those kinds of plans laid out, then you’re going to go nowhere because you don’t really know where you’re going.”
Streamlining and finding efficiencies in government operations was a key theme from Jones.
“I’m not talking about job cutting at this point, I’m talking about investigating and discovering what you need to do in order to get the various departments efficient, while on top of the list is making sure we’re taking care of the people of B.C,.” said Jones.
“It’s not about cutting costs and not doing the right things for the people of B.C., it’s about doing both — cutting costs and taking care of the people of B.C. and my experience is, it can be done.”
On policy, Jones advocated for repealing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), and said it undermines investment in the province which creates economic uncertainty, while also pledging to work with Indigenous nations to resolve issues.
He also touched on health care costs, and took aim at burgeoning bureaucratic structures while vowing to re-examine where and how health care funding is being used.
He advocated for more attention on mental illness, citing the need for specific hospital facilities and beds for adults and youth, while also advocating for involuntary care for people experiencing severe drug overdose events.
Jones also held a campaign event at the Royal Alexandra Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 18, giving a stump speech to a small crowd and making his case for party leadership amidst a field of a dozen candidates vying for the role.
Questions from the crowd attendees featured topics that included wildfire risk reduction for rural communities, cross-border health care access in Alberta, SOGI [Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity] guidance in the education system, and homelessness.
