The B.C. Conservative Party added a third MLA who defected from the B.C. United Party this week — and all of them have said they put aside their differences to join the upstart party and defeat the ruling NDP.
On Monday, Surrey South MLA Elenore Sturko became the latest United MLA to cross the floor and join the Conservatives, following Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson last week and Bruce Banman last September, as polls show increasing support for the party led by John Rustad.
As a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community — who has previously been called a “woke, lesbian, social justice warrior” by Conservative candidate Paul Ratchford — Sturko faced tough questions over how she could reconcile her positions with that of Rustad and her new party base.
In fact, Sturko has gone on record calling for Rustad to apologize for social media posts appearing to compare residential schools to 2SLGBTQ+ education in schools and for calling 2SLGBTQ+ a “lifestyle.”
But the MLA said she has been able to put aside their differences in order to exist in a “big tent” centre-right party, aimed at defeating the ruling B.C. NDP.
“I’ve not abandoned the LGBTQ+ community. I’m part of it,” Sturko told reporters who questioned whether she was being opportunistic. “I’m going to say this: that in a big tent, there’s room for everybody.
“John [Rustad] and I have had plenty of discussions about working together. We can continue to talk about the things that divide, but the reality is we need to find that common ground and work together.”
It’s a line that other defectors have used and could make October’s provincial election interesting for anyone wanting to vote for a right-of-centre party.
Asked about the attacks she previously faced from the Conservative candidate, Sturko said she talked to Ratchford on the weekend, and he apologized for his comments.
Rustad also said he had spoken to Sturko about the attacks she faced and attributed it to tempers flaring up — but added that he and Sturko were now on the same page when it came to forming a “broad coalition” and defeating the NDP.
On Monday, the South Surrey MLA became the latest B.C. United MLA to defect to the B.C. Conservatives — but said she would continue to advocate for 2SLGBTQ+ rights despite feuding with her new party leader, John Rustad, in the past about his views on the issue.
Climate change beliefs
Doerkson also expressed something similar when asked about Rustad’s beliefs last week — specifically around climate change.
The Conservative leader has attracted controversy for questioning the science behind climate change — something that originally got him tossed from the B.C. United Party when it was known as the B.C. Liberal Party.
On the party’s official website, a quote attributed to Rustad says while the climate is changing, British Columbians are not facing a threat, nor is it the most pressing issue.
That stance could be seen as at odds with Doerkson’s views expressed in an interview with CBC Radio West host Sarah Penton on Friday when he said he has personally witnessed the impacts of climate disaster
“Not only my riding, but certainly throughout the province, we have faced significant wildfires, significant drought, significant flooding,” he said. “My riding, frankly, in areas has been absolutely ravaged.”
But he said he agrees with Rustad that day-to-day issues like food and medical affordability take precedence for his constituency members.
Falcon slams ‘extremist’ Conservatives
The idea of putting personal differences aside has become a familiar refrain for the Conservative Party MLAs, all of whom at one point were in the B.C. United party — and then faced questions over whether they agreed with Rustad’s controversial views once they had defected.
For his part, B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon has been critical of the defectors and said on Monday that Sturko was joining a party that “she has long disavowed to me and to caucus as being too extremist.”
Whether or not the idea of a “big tent” centre-right party materializes, B.C. United has been sagging in polling, falling a distant third behind the provincial NDP and Conservatives.
Hamish Telford, a political science professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, says, historically, there have been different flag carriers for those with centre-right beliefs in B.C. — such as the Social Credit Party, the B.C. Liberals — and now the B.C. Conservatives are looking to present themselves as that flag carrier.
Telford says the two major centre-right parties in B.C., B.C. United and the Conservatives, differ mostly on social issues, with Rustad and his party being more socially conservative.
“I’m not sure [whether] others who have more liberal views in the B.C. United party would be willing to abandon those positions to join B.C. Conservatives,” he told Amy Bell, guest host of CBC’s On The Coast.
The professor says that the socially conservative stances of the Conservatives could lead to more moderate voters choosing the NDP or B.C. United — potentially leading to more vote-splitting in the provincial election scheduled for the fall.
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, as polls show the ruling NDP well above its rivals.
The provincial election is scheduled for Oct. 19 this year.