Game change in BC politics: Kevin Falcon-led BC United pulls out from election race
Once of British Columbia’s strong and dominant party BC United, formerly known as BC Liberals, has officially withdrawn its campaign for the upcoming provincial election and encouraged its members and supporters to support John Rustad led BC Conservative party. BC United is also the official opposition party in the Legislature.
Kevin Falcon, leader of BC United, announced on Wednesday that he had finalized a deal with B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad to suspend his party’s campaign and withdraw its nominated candidates in order to prevent a vote split that would favour the NDP.
“This is hard,” he said. “It’s really hard. I accept all the responsibility, good and bad … that’s what leadership is all about. But I also believe this: This is the right thing to do for the province of British Columbia.”
“I got back into politics because I wanted to build a bright future for my two daughters and for the next generation of British Columbians,” said Falcon. “Today, I’m stepping back for the same reason. I know that the best thing for the future of our province is to defeat the NDP, but we cannot do that when the centre-right vote is split.”
“When common sense, free-enterprise British Columbians are united, we get great things done. I’m encouraging all free-enterprise voters to come together and join me in helping elect John Rustad and the Conservative Party of BC in October,” Falcon added.
There have been many speculations in May this year about both parties reaching some agreement to minimize vote splitting. However, it was a failed attempt with both party leaders accusing each other of prioritizing their interests instead of the people. Falcon, stated after the talks failed in May, “Despite the common ground achieved during these meetings, last night John Rustad decided to reject a reasonable offer aimed at preventing a vote split, risking another four years of Eby’s NDP government that will further jeopardize the well-being of this province. In doing so, John Rustad placed his own ambition above the best interests of British Columbia.”
Rustad too attacked Falcon for rejecting the Conservative offer time and again. Rustad at that time said, “I can say with certainty that the Conservative Party of BC and the BC United Party will not be merging before the upcoming provincial election this fall. Kevin Falcon declined our offers in December 2023 to discuss a possible merger – with a single message stating, and I quote, ’F#ck Off.’ In February, we tried again and BC United stated they’d be interested in speaking but Kevin Falcon would ‘dictate’ the terms. On May 23, 2024, a mere 4 months before the election and now that the BC United is tied with the Green Party at 12% in recent polls – he finally presented our Conservative Team an “offer.”
“Time and time again, and in this ’offer,’ Kevin Falcon has demonstrated that he will always put himself first and will do absolutely anything for power: before the BC United Party, before his own candidates, and ultimately before the province,” Rustad said in May.
After both the parties decided to continue their way, the Conservative graph of popularity was growing, whereas Falcon’s party’s popularity was coming down drastically with many BC United heavyweight candidates deciding to join Rustad led party.
Though both the leaders have buried the hatchet to save vote splitting, the discomfort prevails. The same Rustad who said a few months ago that Kevin Falcon puts himself before the province, said after the announcement, “I’ve never doubted Kevin Falcon’s commitment to our province, and today, I applaud his decision to put B.C. first, as he’s done throughout his career.”
What’s next
According to experts, this announcement will create a seismic shift in the election results and BC’s political future.
Nominations of BC United candidates will be withdrawn to enable the Conservative Party of BC to draw from BC United’s pool of incumbent MLAs and candidates. As part of the agreement, the Conservative Party of BC has committed to review candidates based on an improved vetting process to ensure the strongest team possible going into election 2024.
“United would suspend its provincial campaign, but remain technically a party, with Falcon as leader. It would have to run at least one candidate, in order to satisfy election rules and prevent being deregistered. Falcon would not run in the election, but he would support and help the Conservatives in whatever way the party asked,” wrote Rob Show, in an article published on BIV website.
What other politicians are saying
B.C. Premier David Eby had strong words for both Falcon and Rustad. Eby was at an event on Wednesday when he was asked about Falcon’s comment that his party was pulling out of the upcoming provincial election. “For me, look at John Rustad and Kevin Falcon, who worked as colleagues and partners in the BC Liberal Party for a generation,” he said.
“John Rustad was a BC Liberal MLA for even longer than Kevin Falcon was. I really don’t see a huge distinction between them except neither of them are running as BC Liberals this time because of their record. They’re so embarrassed with how they ran the province that they both have changed their party names and want to avoid any association with the 16 years that they were in government, and I understand why that is.”
The announcement came as a shock to many BC United Caucus members.
“I felt really blindsided,” said Mike Bernier, the MLA for Peace River South. “By doing that, he basically threw us all out there, just into the wind.”
Shirley Bond, BC United MLA, said, “The decision made by BC United party leader Kevin Falcon to suspend our party’s election campaign came as a complete surprise to me and I have spent the past 24 hours with my family thinking about what my next steps should be. Together, we have decided that I will be withdrawing my name as a candidate in the upcoming provincial election.”
On the other hand BC Conservative candidates welcomed the announcement. “I’ve been one of the strongest critics of Kevin Falcon and the direction of BC United, but credit where credit’s due—what Kevin has done is something truly commendable. It’s no easy feat for a political leader to dissolve their own party’s candidates and seek a new path, but Kevin showed that leadership is about making the tough decisions for the greater good,” said Harman Bhangu.
Dupinder Kaur Saran, BC Conservative candidate said, “Thank you Kevin Falcon for putting the interests of the public above political ambitions by making the difficult but necessary decision to suspend the BCU campaign. Respect your leadership & that you did everything you possibly could for your team & party before making this difficult decision.
