The official opposition’s run-up to the next election took another hit Monday, as Surrey South MLA Elenore Sturko confirmed she is defecting and joining the BC Conservatives.
Sturko, elected in 2022 under BC United, is just the latest gain for the Conservatives, after United Caucus Chair Lorne Doerkson, who represents Cariboo-Chilcotin, defected on Friday.
In a statement shared by the Conservatives, the former RCMP officer explained she is defecting to “rebuild the coalition that’s needed to defeat the NDP.”
The floor-crossing comes after talks between the two right-of-centre parties broke down amid failure to settle on a deal to avoid vote splitting in the fall provincial election.
“It’s easy to dismiss the polls, but it’s impossible to dismiss what I hear on the doorstep when I’m talking to voters,” she said. “Like the voters in my riding, I don’t believe the NDP deserves to win the next election, but when we split the vote we are handing them an election win, and four more years of a David Eby government that has not delivered,” she stated.
“Our province and its people are worse off that than they were seven years ago when the NDP came to power. By every single measure the NDP has failed British Columbians, and splitting the vote will only reward them with an election victory they don’t deserve.”
Sturko will now run in the 2024 election in the Surrey-Cloverdale riding under the Conservative banner.
Recent polling suggested BC United is currently at 12 per cent of the popular vote with less than five months before the election. Data from Angus Reid released Thursday suggested that if an election were held then, BC United would come in third place with 16 per cent of the votes. The poll puts the BC conservatives in second with 30 per cent support and the BC NDP in the lead at 41 per cent.
Conservative Leader John Rustad and Sturko are set to have a news conference at 10 a.m. Monday. You can watch CityNews 24/7 live or listen live to CityNews 1130 to keep up to date with this developing story. You can also subscribe to breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.
–With files from The Canadian Press