B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon is losing a fourth member of the legislature to the Conservative Party of British Columbia.
B.C. United’s director of communications, Adam Wilson, says in a statement that Teresa Wat, who represents Richmond North Centre, has indicated her intention to join John Rustad’s B.C. Conservatives.
Wat was elected under the B.C. Liberal banner three times beginning in 2013, prior to the party changing its name to B.C. United.
Wilson says the party wants candidates who share its vision and values, and if Wat feels that her values better align with Rustad’s, “we wish her well.”
Wat did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
B.C. United has lost several high-profile candidates and members of the legislature to the provincial Conservatives.
Lorne Doerkson, who represents Cariboo-Chilcotin, left the party to join Rustad in May and Surrey’s Elenore Sturko did the same in June.
Last year, Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman joined Rustad’s party after defecting from B.C. United, and the party lost its candidate, Chris Moore, to the Conservatives in June.
Rustad was, himself, booted out of B.C. United, then known as the Liberals, in 2022 for questioning the science behind climate change and sat as the only Conservative MLA for months before a wave of defections over the last year.
There were talks of a merger deal between B.C. United and the Conservatives, as B.C.’s two right-of-centre parties sought to avoid vote splitting in the upcoming provincial election.
But that deal was rejected in May, with polls showing the Conservatives with a healthy lead over B.C. United.