Kevin Falcon resigns as B.C. United leader after party officially deregistered - CBC

Kevin Falcon, seen here at a news conference in Surrey in June 2024, has stepped down as leader of the deregistered B.C. United party. (Ben Nelms/CBC)Social SharingFormer British Columbia opposition leader Kevin Falcon has stepped down as head of the deregistered B.C. United party, two years after it folded its 2024 election campaign to support the provincial Conservatives.

Falcon says he is leaving his post after the "exciting" victory by the B.C. Conservatives in last weekend's provincial election.

He explains in a statement on social media that he had remained at the head of the party until now to resist pressure to use it to divide the centre-right vote.

B.C. United was removed as a registered political party from the Elections B.C. website this month ahead of the election.

B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon withdraws party from provincial election

Falcon says he called the president of B.C. United on Tuesday night to stand down.

He congratulates premier-designate Lorne Doerkson in the statement, saying the Conservatives' "maturation" was "challenging to state the obvious."

He says the party's renewal is "good for our democracy and good for our province."

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Falcon was a former cabinet minister under the B.C. Liberal governments of Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark before winning the party's leadership in 2022 and rebranding it as B.C. United the next year.

But the name change coincided with the collapse in support for the party, and the rise of the Conservatives.

Falcon ended his party's campaign ahead of the 2024 B.C. election, while many of its candidates switched allegiance to the Conservatives, including prominent figures in the incoming government.

"The B.C. Conservatives have brought fresh energy into provincial politics, attracting a new generation of young British Columbians and common-sense ideas," Falcon says in his statement.

Falcon also says he wanted to make sure B.C. United's financial debt was "dealt with appropriately" before he left, and it has now been paid in full.

"The organization can close this chapter on solid footing, with its obligations honoured."