The B.C. United Party is suspending its election campaign and joining forces with the surging Conservative Party of B.C. in a move intended to unite the right-of-centre vote.
B.C. United campaign manager Mark Werner confirmed that Kevin Falcon will step down and the two parties will merge campaign efforts ahead of the October 19th provincial election.
It’s unclear how many B.C. United candidates will run under the Conservative banner.
Under leader John Rustad, the B.C. Conservatives have been climbing in the polls and raking in donations. Rustad has scheduled a news conference for 2:40 p.m. PT.
Last week, a survey from Mainstreet Research put the B.C. Conservatives in the lead in terms of voting intention at 36 per cent support, ahead of the governing B.C. NDP at 33 per cent.
Speaking at a clean energy news conference, Premier David Eby said both Rustad and Falcon are trying to distance themselves from their record as members of the former governing B.C. Liberal Party.
“They are so embarrassed with how they ran the province, they both have changed their party names and want to avoid any association with the 16 years that they were in government,” said Eby. “Whatever they change their name to before the election, they’re still the same guys.”
Falcon led the charge to change the name of the B.C. Liberal Party to B.C. United in April of last year. The name change, supported by 80 per cent of the party, has since been heavily criticized as being confusing to voters.