Another high-profile B.C. United MLA has crossed the floor to join the B.C. Conservatives, in the latest blow to the official Opposition.
Elenore Sturko, MLA for Surrey South, broke the news in a statement Monday morning and will hold a news conference with B.C. Conservatives leader John Rustad at 10 a.m. PT.
“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,” Sturko said.
Sturko said she “thought long and hard” about making the move to the B.C. Conservatives and believes that “a real coalition for common sense change” is the key to defeating the governing B.C. NDP in the next election.
B.C. United has been sagging in major opinion polls, falling a distant third place behind the provincial NDP and Conservatives.
B.C. United and the B.C. Conservatives had held talks to discuss a non-compete deal in certain ridings but they fell apart last month.
On Friday, B.C. United’s caucus chair Lorne Doerkson defected to the B.C. Conservatives.
Doerkson, MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin, said the Oct. 19 election is “simply too consequential” and his constituents want to see a Conservative government.
Sturko’s defection means the B.C. Conservatives now have four MLAs.
A former Surrey RCMP officer, Sturko was considered a star candidate for B.C. United when she won the Surrey South byelection. Sturko and her wife Melissa have three children.
She has been a vocal critic of the government’s decriminalization policy, which was walked back in April, and has raised concerns about prescription opioids being diverted to the streets.
B.C. United leader Kevin Falcon said on CKNW this morning he considers Sturko’s defection a “personal betrayal.”
B.C. United spokesperson Adam Wilson said in a statement: “Elenore’s decision to run for a party that is so out of line with her values and priorities in a new riding is shocking, and shows she cares more about her pension than her principles.”
On the weekend, NDP MLA Mable Elmore shared a social media post from Paul Ratchford, the B.C. Conservative candidate for Vancouver Point Grey, in which he called Sturko a “woke, lesbian, social justice warrior.”
Asked about these comments, Sturko said she has not abandoned the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
Last week, Damon Scrase was forced to drop out as B.C. Conservative candidate for Courtney-Comox after offensive social media posts from his past resurfaced.
Among the now-deleted posts was one in which Scrase said Pride parades have become a place where “perverts expose themselves to children for kicks.”