Kevin Falcon shoots down BC United, BC Conservative merger

There’s no shortage of speculation over a potential deal that would see the BC United and BC Conservative parties join forces ahead of the upcoming provincial election.

But based off what BC United Leader Kevin Falcon told the media Thursday, it doesn’t seem very likely that it will come to fruition before the October vote.

“There won’t be a merger,” Falcon said. “There’s practical reasons why, but many of their candidates are frankly too extreme. I can’t merge with a party that has candidates that equate vaccinations with Nazism or apartheid,” he added.

Falcon also mentioned the importance of putting forward credible candidates if a merger were to happen.

“While [the BC Conservatives] have problematic candidates, I do think there are good people that also support them that we can work with to have a reasonable discussion with and find common ground.”

On the other side, BC Conservative Leader John Rustad also shut down rumours of a potential merger Wednesday.

As much as it appears both leaders seem disengaged with creating something concrete before the election, Falcon didn’t fully rule out the possibility of things changing after.

“These aren’t discussions you have in the public,” said Falcon.

“I’m not going to take anything on or off the table. I want the public to know that the interests of the public are more important than the interests of Kevin Falcon or of John Rustad. I think we both owe it to be the kind of leaders that say ‘let’s put the interest of the broader public first, and then figure out whether we can find common ground.”

B.C.’s next provincial election is currently slated for Oct. 19, 2024.