Only in British Columbia would former Conservative stalwart Stockwell Day work for the Liberals

It's been said politics in British Columbia are a little wacky.

British Columbia's provincial Liberals are the right-wing party, the Conservatives are lost in the wilderness and retired Tory MP and cabinet minister Stockwell Day is back in the spotlight.

The B.C. Liberal Party - no affiliation with its federal namesake - is a right-of-centre coalition made up of Liberals and Conservatives joined in conflict against the B.C. New Democrats.

Day attended its biennial convention in Penticton last week and garnered a lot of attention for his stance on changing the party's name.

"It's just an anathema to so many people to say the word let alone put an X beside it," Day told The Globe and Mail, referring to the term "Liberal."

"There are still people who cannot bring themselves to vote for anything with the word 'Liberal' in it. I qualify in that group in every circumstance except this one. "

Some have suggested the name change is in response to the federal Liberals' decimation in the polls May 2. But Chad Pederson, executive director of the B.C. Liberal Party, told Yahoo! Canada News that's not true.

"It's an idea that's been discussed around our party for years and with a new leader, Premier Christy Clark and a fresh approach, the timing was right to have this conversation with our membership again," he said.

Whatever the party name, Day has vowed to "volunteer" for the party and help them defeat the New Democrats in the next election.

As an interesting aside, Day will be supporting the B.C. Liberals against his former colleague in the House of Commons — John Cummins.

Cummins, another Conservative MP who decided not run again, is vying for the leadership of the upstart Conservative party.

The Conservatives have no seats in the B.C. Legislature and haven't been a significant force in B.C. politics since the 1950s.

(CP Photo)