B.C. Conservatives add former B.C. United candidates, drop some of their own

Some of those whose names no longer appear on the Conservatives' website took to social media to complain about the changes

Author of the article:

Published Sep 03, 2024  •  2 minute read

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad (right) pauses to confer with B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon while responding to questions during a news conference, in Vancouver on Aug. 28, 2024. Photo by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESS

A series of candidates for B.C.’s upcoming provincial election have disappeared from the B.C. Conservatives’ online list of nominees, as some former B.C. United members move into the Conservative fold after last week’s reshaping of the province’s political landscape.

Some former candidates complained that the Conservatives were being infiltrated by the official Opposition — whose leader Kevin Falcon ended his party’s campaign last Wednesday — and at least one said they planned to run as an independent.

Article content

Falcon and B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad last week announced a deal to pool candidates under the Conservative banner to avoid vote splitting that could favour Premier David Eby’s NDP in the Oct. 19 election.

Some of those whose names no longer appear on the Conservatives’ website took to social media to complain about the changes and accuse the party of shifting its values.

In a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Dupinder Kaur Saran says she will now be running as an independent in Surrey-Panorama because another Conservative had been “bullied” into standing there instead.

Former Prince George-Mackenzie candidate Rachael Weber — whose social media content about the “5G Genocide” had drawn criticism from B.C. United — confirmed in a Facebook post that she had been replaced in what she called “a matter of deep sadness for me.”

“I believe this Conservative Party of B.C. is no longer Conservative but running under the guise of the name Conservative. They have allowed many B.C. United (Liberal) candidates to infiltrate the party and have lost sight of the real Conservative values we as Conservatives hold dear,” Weber said.

Article content

“Your new Conservative candidate for this riding will more than likely be B.C. United Liberal opposition.”

Former B.C. United candidate in Burnaby North Michael Wu will now represent the Conservatives there, with the party’s former nominee, Simon Chandler, moved to Burnaby East.

Former B.C. United nominees Scott McInnes in Columbia River Revelstoke, and Keenan Adams in Port Coquitlam, become the Conservative candidates in those ridings instead.

Recommended from Editorial

1. 

   John Rustad tells Jordan Peterson B.C. needs nuclear talk, end to school 'indoctrination'

2. 

   Voting in the 2024 B.C. Election: What you need to know

3. 

   B.C. politics: How John Rustad and Kevin Falcon put aside personal differences to reach a deal

Article content