July 28 (Reuters) - The leader of British Columbia's Official Opposition Christy Clark has resigned, her Liberal Party said on Friday, weeks after her government was ousted through a vote of non-confidence in the legislature of the western Canadian province.
The right-leaning Liberal Party, unrelated to Canada's governing federal Liberals, said in a statement the movement's executives will meet within 28 days to plan for a leadership vote. Media reports said Clark will leave Aug. 4.
Clark's government was defeated last month after an election in which her party was reduced to a legislative minority, paving the way for the left-leaning New Democrats to rule the province for the first time in 16 years.
Such a prospect has unnerved investors in Canada's third-most populous province, not least owners of oil and gas projects such as Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Inc's KMI.N KML.TO C$7.4 billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which the New Democratic Party (NDP) has vowed to halt. had said she would stay on as opposition leader. After her government's ousting, Clark tried unsuccessfully to dissolve the legislature, which would have triggered a new election.