Long-time Liberal supporter Scott Nelson wants Premier Gordon Campbell, above, to resign because of the way the HST was handled. (CBC)

A long-time supporter of the B.C. Liberal Party is calling on Premier Gordon Campbell to resign because of the way the government handled introduction of the controversial HST.

Scott Nelson, former mayor of Williams Lake and a life-long Liberal, initially backed Campbell for the job of premier.

However, Nelson said the damage from the fallout of the harmonized sales tax is too much for the party to bounce back from. For the party to make a comeback, Nelson said, the Liberals need to ditch Campbell.

"I honestly think that if Gordon Campbell doesn't step aside that you will actually see the emergence of a third party in British Columbia," he said.

"If there is a third party in British Columbia, I can assure you one thing — that will split the free enterprise vote down the middle and put the NDP right into power."

A series of government emails and briefing notes obtained by CBC News and other media outlets through a freedom-of-information request last week reveal B.C. government bureaucrats discussed the HST with their federal counterparts — and briefed the provincial finance minister — well before the May 2009 provincial election.

Convention in November

The information appears to contradict repeated claims by the Liberals that the HST was not on their radar before the election.

Nelson is calling on Campbell to step down at the next caucus convention in November. He said it's the only way for the party to rebuild and find a new leader before the next provincial election in 2013.

"When members are leaving the party because they have become so disillusioned and angry that they don't want to talk about it ... you have got to stand up and say, 'Hey there has to be a change," he said.

"It's unfortunate, but you know, you don't want to kick somebody out. But you want to be polite and say, 'Thank you for doing a great job, but it is time to retire.'"

Meanwhile, B.C. New Democrat Leader Carole James said changing the face of the Liberal government won't matter because British Columbians no longer have confidence in the party.

"My disappointment is that the things that matter to the people in this province aren't being paid attention to," she said.

"You're not having focus on education, on building a strong economy, on providing good-quality health care. You have a government in chaos."

The premier's office declined to comment on the suggestion that Campbell should resign.