There’s a push to resuscitate B.C.’s centrist political party – but one person is standing in the way.
That's according to Karin Kirkpatrick, former MLA for West Vancouver-Capilano, who is leading the public call for BC United Leader Kevin Falcon to step down from the role.
Kirkpatrick released a statement on Thursday telling Falcon to resign so the party could start to rebuild and pay down its substantial pre-election debt.
Falcon betrayed the party and its candidates when he made the unilateral decision last August to withdraw BC United (formerly BC Liberals) from the 2024 election, she said.
“Former MLAs, candidates, staff and small business vendors who provided services to the party are still owed hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Kirkpatrick said. “Every day Kevin Falcon remains as leader decreases the chances that those people will ever see the money they are rightfully owed.”
As things stand today, the party can’t raise funds to pay off its debt, which she estimates to be as high as $1 million.
“Other than pushing back against the fear of deregistration, past members and supporters have been given no reason to renew memberships or make new donations,” Kirkpatrick said.
British Columbians hope to see a viable centrist challenger to the BC Conservatives and BC NDP, she said, calling them both “polarized and out of touch.”
But it’s clear that Falcon has no desire to see the party become a viable political entity again, Kirkpatrick said.
“A complete overhaul, starting with Kevin Falcon’s resignation, will begin the long and necessary process of rebuilding, allowing us to once again offer a positive, fiscally responsible, and socially progressive vision for the future of our province,” she said.
As the previously sitting MLA for the West Vancouver-Capilano riding, Kirkpatrick stood beside Falcon and the rest of her party as they underwent an ill-fated rebranding from the BC Liberals to BC United beginning in April 2023.
But after months of trading barbs with BC Conservative Leader John Rustad for splitting the centre-right vote, Falcon and BC United executives made a quick decision in late August 2024 to withdraw the party from the upcoming provincial election.
Kirkpatrick and other BC United members said they were blindsided by the decision, and refused to join the Conservative ranks. Kirkpatrick ran as an independent in the October election, but lost – as did all of her peers who did the same.
Yet Kirkpatrick believes that people in B.C. want a “true” centrist option.
“A fiscally responsible party that also has a social conscience – we don’t have that in British Columbia right now,” she told the North Shore News.
Support for provincial and federal conservative parties waning, Kirkpatrick says
In the current political climate, Kirkpatrick said that support is slipping for provincial and federal conservative parties in Canada.
“And you’ll see, even in these last few days with Trump, that a lot of people are starting to step away from that right-side populist movement, and they’re looking again for something in the centre that is credible, that is balanced, and I believe we’ve got … the framing of the building to build on,” she said.
That framing includes thousands of people who have donated to the BC United or Liberal party, Kirkpatrick said.
“I’ve got people who want to give money right now to the party, but they say they’re not going to do it until Kevin Falcon is no longer involved,” she said.
While Kirkpatrick has a group of people working on changing the party’s leadership, there are roadblocks in the way. Some of the usual mechanisms for leadership don’t apply, because the party doesn’t have a caucus in the house, she said.
But there’s wording in the party’s constitution that points to very clear reasons for Falcon to step down, Kirkpatrick said.
“If you are not working to serve the best interests of the party, then you are in contravention and should no longer be a leader,” she said.
Many attempts have been made to get in touch with Falcon on this issue, but most have been unsuccessful, Kirkpatrick said.
Falcon was also reached for comment for this article, but there was no reply by publication time.
“I have not spoken to him since Aug. 28 and probably the last thing I said to him was when I asked for his resignation, and he said ‘No’ and hung up,” Kirkpatrick said. “We have not spoken since then, but I know calls are not returned.”
“A lot of messages have been left for him. People are not sure where he is,” she said.
Despite challenges, Kirkpatrick said she’s determined to do whatever she can to rebuild the party.
“I want to help to create a party that will get other good people excited about stepping into a leadership race, but we’ve got to have the excitement. We’ve got to be clear on our principles, and we’ve got to make sure that people want to be part of that,” Kirkpatrick said.
But she’s done waiting around for phone calls.
“We’ve been trying to make this happen behind the scenes, but clearly if we don’t move on this quickly, there’s going to be no party to rebuild,” she said.
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