After a lot of back and forth in the political sphere this past week, BC United party leadership says it will in fact be running some candidates in the provincial election after all.
Confirmation of the party running comes just days after Leader Kevin Flacon announced it was suspending BC United’s campaign and instead endorsing the BC Conservatives.
In an email to party members Friday, supplied to 1130 NewsRadio, the party stated: “The last week has been very difficult for our members, MLAs, candidates, and staff.”
“While we know this decision was gut-wrenching, we strongly believe it gives British Columbians the best opportunity to defeat the NDP and secure a free-enterprise victory.”
The email goes on to say that BC United “remains a registered political party with Elections BC.”
The email states that as leader Falcon had the power to revoke nominations and suspend the upcoming election campaign. However, “we intend on running a select number of candidates in the upcoming election.”
“The intention is to ensure that BC United (formerly the BC Liberal Party) remains a registered political party with Elections BC,” the email stated. “The candidates and ridings have not yet been decided.”
“Again, I want to reiterate that we have simply suspended the full province-wide BC United campaign for this upcoming provincial election. This does not fold our part or erase our organization.”
The party says that after the Oct. 19 election, the party will have a “thorough discussion” about the future of BC United.
“If there is a desire within our membership to rebuild the Party, with a plausible path to do so, we want to be in a position to act on this,” it stated.
A former BC United candidate 1130 NewsRadio us they believe the party wants to ensure they get five per cent of the vote to make sure they can still receive annual allowances from the Chief Electoral Officer between now and the provincial election.
1130 reached out to BC United for more on how running a small number of candidates will work, including how they’ll choose candidates and which ridings they’ll be running in, given that the BC Conservatives are running candidates in the vast majority of ridings already.
The party didn’t answer most of our questions, but did say reaffirm that running in the October election is to keep its registered status.
Elections BC previously told 1130 that parties can remain registered if they don’t run a candidate in this election, as long as they run at least two in 2028.
More to come.
You can watch CityNews 24/7 live or listen live to 1130 NewsRadio Vancouver to keep up to date with this story. You can also subscribe to breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.