The search for a new Liberal candidate in a North Shore riding took another strange twist as the party lashed out after losing a potential star candidate to the NDP.

UBC professor Michael Byers discussed taking up the nomination in the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country riding with Liberal leader Stephane Dion, but what happened next varies depending on who is telling the story.

"I think once (Byers) realized he wasn't going to be given the nomination on a silver platter he decided to go to a party that would," said party campaign co-chair Bruce Young.

Byers wanted to avoid a nomination race because, being relatively new to the province, he didn't think he could muster enough support from local party members, according to Young.

"It makes you wonder why he was even contemplating being their representative in the parliament of Canada," Young said.

Although Dion did not explicitly promise him the nomination, Byers insists the leader made it clear that he would be the Liberals' nominee in the riding.

But Byers, a frequent contributor to the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star, was turned off by Dion's "Green Shift" policy explaining that the Liberal plan underestimates the extent of the climate crisis the world is facing.

A week after spurning the Liberals' advances Byers took up the NDP banner in Vancouver Centre.

"If anything the fact that I am not running there relects badly on the Liberals and not on me," he said.

Immediately following Byers' announcement last week, the Liberals revealed that Byers had talked to them about running in West Vancouver. Byers now faces Liberal MP Hedy Fry who has held the Vancouver Centre riding since 1993.

"There's probably bad blood now between the Liberals and myself because of what's happened," Byers said. "If they hadn't gone public with their side of this I would have never spoken to a journalist about this."

Although the party went public there is little agreement between the two sides to the story. They can't even agree on who approached whom.

"They approached me," says Byers.

"(Byers) had expressed an interest in being a Liberal candidate," says Young.

What is clear is that the furor has given Byers an expected boost to his campaign launch.

"I've had a virtual flood of e-mail for the support of my candidacy," he said. "It has been wonderfully encouraging."

The Liberals, meanwhile, are left to search for a strong candidate to fend off Tory challenger John Weston who lost by less than 1,000 votes in the 2006 federal election. Young said he expects to hold a nomination race in West Vancouver by the end of September and up to eight candidates have taken out nomination papers.

Independent MP Blair Wilson who defeated Weston as a Liberal, left the party in October over allegations of campaign financing improprieties. Wilson continues to work to clear his name and told the Outlook earlier this year he hopes to be welcomed back in the Liberal fold.