B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon says the provincial Conservatives have rejected a deal to avoid vote-splitting in the fall provincial election.
In a statement released Friday morning, Falcon said talks between the two right-of-centre parties concluded with B.C. Conservatives Leader John Rustad rejecting a proposed “non-competition” agreement.
Falcon said Rustad has “placed his own ambition” above B.C.’s interests and is risking the re-election of the governing NDP in October.
He said talks took place between two representatives of each party this month, most recently on Wednesday, and B.C. United had proposed a non-competition framework.
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Falcon said the proposal included the two parties not running candidates against each other’s members, with the B.C. Conservatives running in 47 seats and B.C. United in 46.
But Falcon said despite common ground between the representatives, Rustad rejected the proposal on Thursday night and made no counter-offer.
Other points in the B.C. United proposal included that the parties would not merge and that they would refrain from attacking each other during campaigning for the October election, Falcon said.
Conservative reaction
Rustad also released a statement Friday in which he attacked Falcon and quashed any possibility of a merger, saying Falcon definitively rejected the idea late last year.
“Kevin Falcon declined our offers in December 2023 to discuss a possible merger — with a single message stating, and I quote, ‘F–k Off’,” Rustad said in the statement.
According to the Conservative leader, Falcon prioritized personal ambition over party unity and the interests of the province.
“[Falcon] says publicly that he wants to put his ego aside, but privately, any discussions or ‘offers’ have been completely unserious and dishonest,” the statement said.
Rustad has previously pledged to run candidates in all 93 electoral districts.
“Unlike [Falcon], I intend to keep my promises,” he said.
B.C. Conservatives don’t have much incentive to accept the merger: expert
Stewart Prest, a political science lecturer at the University of British Columbia, says the Conservatives have little to gain from the election deal, compared to B.C. United.
“[Falcon] is trying to maintain relevance and competitiveness in the political climate with his party polling as low as they ever have … It’s hard to imagine B.C. United coming back on their own merits,” he said in an interview with CBC News.
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“I can see why it’s easier for Rustad to reject the [non-competition] agreement,” said Prest. “His party is at a possibility of finishing close second in the polls … there’s always an incentive for politicians to resist sharing the steering wheel.”
Meanwhile, the skirmishes between the two parties is working in favour of B.C. NDP, according to the political analyst.
“The confusion and infighting gives the NDP a reason to take a breath of relief. As long as they are at one another’s throat, they are not attacking B.C. NDP and it allows them to regroup after a difficult spring session.”
In a press conference Friday, B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said the B.C. NDP is “indifferent” to which party their main opponent is in the upcoming election.
“Our focus is on housing, continue to improve health care and addressing cost inflation that people are dealing with,” said Kahlon.
“These guys are so out of touch. I mean British Columbians are dealing with costs of inflation, they are dealing with challenges around health care, housing and [the parties] are squabbling over backroom deals, not even paying attention to what British Columbians care about.”