This is HUGE!
BC United (formerly BC Liberals) suspending their campaign and joining the BC Conservatives. Kevin Falcon is stepping down as BC United leader.
Yes, it was weird... but that's BC for you!
We witnessed Kevin Falcon tell his BC United caucus that the party was suspending its campaign. It was weird.
The BC United leader made the declaration before announcing he was pausing the party’s campaign and supporting the Conservative Party of BC.
There weren’t too many members of the local media on hand for the press conference announcing that
Kevin Falcon’s BC United party would be suspending its campaign. No, most of the media got access to the news via video and called into the presser with Falcon and
Conservative Party of BC leader John Rustad.
BCBusiness, however, went down to the Sheraton Wall Centre to attend in person. And when we took the elevator to the third floor of the building, we observed Rustad and his Conservative Party inner circle gathering with smiles and handshakes aplenty.
In the hallway on the other side, however, we couldn’t help but notice Kevin Falcon openly addressing his BC United MLAs loudly via video call.
“It won’t feel great today… we have a large debt that we have to pay off as a party,” said Falcon to his more than 20 BCU MLAs. He made the claim multiple times that his goal coming into the party leadership was always to get the NDP out of government and that the party dissolving and throwing its support behind the Conservatives was the best way to do that.
It was strange, for sure, to see Falcon, who booted Rustad out of the party’s caucus just over two years ago, tell his party that their best option would be to give up and maybe, potentially, run with the Conservatives.
“I sat down with John and negotiated the deal,” he said. “I said that we have outstanding candidates and you have some problematic ones. I’ll speak to all willing MLAs and I’ll be candid and honest about what I heard. Those who want that opportunity will be given it. They have to field the best possible team, that means going seat by seat and saying, ‘is this the best possible candidate?’”
He went on to say that there will be opportunities to run for those who want them, though it might not be the exact seat they are occupying or that they want. Falcon also took responsibility when it came to the decision, saying, “I will accept all the bullets. This is based on thousands and thousands of conversations with supporters. I will fight for all of you as best I can. I will phone each and every one of you. I love of all you, I mean this sincerely.”
The BC United leader made the declaration before announcing he was pausing the party’s campaign and supporting the Conservative Party of BC.
www.bcbusiness.ca