Kevin Falcon steps down from B.C. political party that many have forgotten about
Kevin Falcon has stepped down as leader of the BC United provincial party.
In an announcement he shared on social media, he said he advised the President of BC United/BC Liberals of his decision on Oct. 27.
This comes just a few days after the Oct. 24 provincial election, which saw the Conservative Party win with a majority government.
Falcon said he stayed in the role “long after it seemed necessary” because he didn’t want the divided vote on the centre-right, and because he had committed to the party’s members, donors, and volunteers to stay on until the party debt was “dealt with appropriately.”
The BC United, formerly the BC Liberals, most recently governed the province from 2001 to 2017, under Gordon Campbell from 2001 to 2011, and then under Cristy Clark from 2011 to 2017.
The party officially rebranded from BC Liberals to BC United in 2022, after losing two consecutive elections in 2017 and 2020 and wanting to make a clear distinction between themselves and the federal Liberal Party.
But in the lead-up to the 2024 provincial election, Falcon decided to suspend the party’s campaign as popularity surged for the BC Conservatives and concerns that the vote would be split between the centre-right and right-wing vote.
In Falcon’s statement, he wished Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson and the Conservatives his best wishes.
He acknowledged the turmoil that the Conservatives have seen since they lost the 2024 election, from pressuring John Rustad as leader to the party facing an exodus of MLAs under the leadership of former leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay.
“Their maturation as a party was challenging to state the obvious, but David Eby’s cynical early election call focused everyone’s minds on the bigger picture. Something we must never lose sight of.”
Findlay had stepped down mere days before Eby had called the election, and Doerkson was appointed interim leader. The MLAs that had fled the party returned.
“The B.C. Conservatives have brought fresh energy into provincial politics, attracting a new generation of young British Columbians and common-sense ideas,” Falcon said.