The B.C. Conservative Party is drawing a parallel between its cause and the two major political surprises of 2016.

One is the British exit from the European Union or Brexit. The other is the election of businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump as U.S. President.

According to John Twigg, director of policy and communications with the B.C. Conservative Party, his party is riding a populist movement not different from the anti-establishment wave that propelled Brexit and a Trump presidency.

“There is a movement out there. And I’d like you to say that,” Twigg told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview.

From his base in Campbell River, Twigg continued, “I mean, I really feel the movement. You know, I look at Brexit as a populist protest. I look at Donald Trump as a populist protest. We’re not Trump-lite here by the way, but we are appealing to a very large segment of people in B.C., who are dissatisfied with the status quo. So we’re actually gaining momentum.”

Twigg, a veteran journalist, was a former press secretary to then B.C. NDP premier Dave Barrett.

He has been a B.C. Conservative Party member for a number of years, and joined the party’s campaign team going into the May 9, 2017 provincial election in February this year.

“You look at what happened in Brexit. It was a populist protest against European bureaucrats imposing things. And you look at the protest that … elected Donald Trump; it’s a protest against insensitive government.

“And you know, there’s a lot of unhappiness here in British Columbia as well. The trick is to sort of coalesce it into one force,” Twigg said.

Twigg was being asked about his party’s state of preparedness for the coming election when he made the association with Brexit and the election of Trump.

Compared to its situation leading up to the 2013 election, the B.C. Conservative Party looks diminished.

It doesn’t have a leader that has the same profile as that of former federal Conservative MP John Cummins who steered the party into the last election.

In fact, it doesn’t have a leader. Just weeks after winning the leadership race last year, Dan Brooks was ousted by the party executive on a technicality.

When Twigg was interviewed on March 8, the party had yet to announce its first candidate in the election.

“We’re a small party,” Twigg said. “You’re probably aware [that] we’ve had some internal problems in the past, but there’s a new group there. I call it the new B.C. Conservative Party, and we’re actually getting our act together.”

He said that while the board of directors has the power to appoint an interim leader, the party is “not fixated on that”.

“We’re fixated on finding good candidates, and getting our policy platform advanced,” Twigg said.

On March 9, results of a Mainstreet/Postmedia poll showed that popular support for B.C. Conservatives is steady at 10 percent.

The B.C. Green Party also stood at 10 percent, according to the poll. The ruling B.C. Liberal Party had 26 percent, and the B.C. NDP at 29 percent.

In 2013, the B.C. Conservative Party fielded 56 candidates. It garnered 4.75 percent of the popular vote, and did not win a single seat.

The last election was the strongest showing in years by the party. In 2009, it had 24 candidates, and its share of the vote was 2.1 percent.

On its website, the party states that it believes "in the principle of equality for all British Columbians, with special privileges for none".

According to the party, "This principle includes the protection of private property, the freedom of the individual, and freedom of speech, worship and lawful assembly."