 Lali ran again elected in the newly created riding of Fraser-Nicola in the 2009 election and was re-elected over BC Liberal Party candidate Ella Brown.In December 2010, following a BC NDP caucus revolt of which Lali was a part of, BC NDP Leader Carole James announced she would step down as Leader of the NDP.On January 7, 2011, Lali announced he was running to be leader of the opposition.