High-profile MLAs join BC Conservatives as BCU shakeup continues to make waves

The pieces are still falling into place after one of the biggest shakeups in recent memory in B.C. politics last week.

The BC Conservatives announced Tuesday that Delta South MLA Ian Paton, Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar, and Surrey-White Rock MLA Trevor Halford have all joined the party as candidates in the upcoming provincial election. The three are the first BC United MLAs to switch to the Conservatives since Leader Kevin Falcon announced he was suspending his party’s campaign.

Milobar is set to run as a Tory candidate in Kamloops Centre, while the others will look to be re-elected in their current ridings.

“Their decision reflects a growing momentum among conservatives to unite against the BC NDP and Premier David Eby’s failed leadership,” the Conservatives said Tuesday. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!

Paton tells 1130 NewsRadio the decision brings him “relief.”

“When I ran in 2017, I ran because I wanted to unseat an independent, because I felt being an independent really doesn’t give you the opportunity to be accountable for what you do in Victoria. You’re not accountable to a whip or a caucus chair or a leader of your party, and as an independent, it’s pretty hard to get anything really done and things brought back to your community,” he explained.

He says there’s still time for other BC United MLAs to make decisions and for the Conservatives to add more names to its roster. However, he says he’s “a little bit disappointed” in a few of his colleagues from around B.C. that were asked to join the Conservatives and didn’t.

Some candidates have said their decision to not join the Conservatives came down to their personal beliefs not lining up with those of the party. When asked where his personal convictions lie on some of the more controversial statements made by Tory candidates and their leader, Paton said his convictions “haven’t changed.”

“I’m trying to tell people that the Ian Paton that has, I think, done a fairly good job representing Delta South … I don’t always align, obviously, with some odd things that have come but I don’t really pay that close of attention to social media so I’m not exactly sure what comments have come from maybe a few members. But I certainly stuck to my convictions and the integrity of what I believed in when I was running for BC United. Pro-choice, pro-vaccination for COVID, LGBTQ rights, and I believe that our climate is changing over time,” Paton said.

Falcon’s announcement has sent waves through the political landscape in B.C., with word of his decision coming just eight weeks before the Oct. 19 vote. Since his announcement, some candidates have joined the leagues of the BC Conservatives, decided to run as independents, or made the decision to call it quits on politics altogether after the election.

BC United MLA Jackie Tegart, who has long represented the Fraser-Nicola riding, is among those to decide not to seek re-election in just over a month.

“Over the past 11 years, we have faced extraordinary challenges—wildfires, landslides, floods, and atmospheric rivers—that tested the resilience of our communities. Yet, time and again, I witnessed the incredible spirit of our people, stepping up to support one another in ways that were often unprecedented. It has been my privilege to advocate on behalf of such a strong and united constituency, even when government actions fell short,” she wrote on social media Tuesday.

Peace River South MLA Mike Bernier has heavily hinted he’ll be running as an independent, telling 1130 NewsRadio on Friday that he had been reaching out to the 30 or so BCU candidates with paperwork filed to let them know they’d be on the ballot even if the party wasn’t endorsing them.

He suggested he wants candidates to run as independents, and then possibly form an alliance after the October vote.

Paton admits the decision to suspend BC United’s election campaign was devastating to some of the incumbents who “suddenly don’t have an opportunity to run.” He says he was shocked by the decision “like everyone else.”

He says he’s “texted Kevin several times,” and had a “brief phone call” with Falcon in the days since the shakeup.

“Kevin, he feels pretty awkward about everything that happened. We know that there’s a lot of really disappointed people within my caucus, a lot of disappointed supporters, a lot of disappointed staff. But then a lot of people in the business community congratulate him for making this very difficult decision that at least takes away two right-of-centre parties, free enterprise parties that would possibly split the vote. And the goal here is to take down this NDP government and now we have one party — the B.C. Conservative Party — running against the NDP government with a really good opportunity to win this election,” Paton said.

B.C. Conservatives add, subtract candidates, as some complain of BC United moving in

It’s not just BC United candidates who are making new decisions. A series of candidates have disappeared from the B.C. Conservatives’ online list of nominees, as some former BCU members move into the Conservative fold.

Some former candidates complained that the Conservatives were being infiltrated by the Official Opposition and at least one said they planned to run as an independent.

Some of those whose names no longer appear on the Conservatives’ website have accused the party of shifting its values.

In a post on social media platform X, 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.

“I could no longer watch this drama unfold & did the right thing by moving to a side, to make room for the Whiterock candidate. I will now be running independent in my riding. The Provincial Conservative Party is now a Liberal Party running under the Conservative Banner,” Saran wrote.

Former Prince George-Mackenzie candidate Rachael Weber — whose social media content about the “5G Genocide” had drawn criticism from BC 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 BC is no longer Conservative but running under the guise of the name Conservative. They have allowed many BC United (Liberal) candidates to infiltrate the party and have lost sight of the real Conservative values we as Conservatives hold dear,” Weber said.

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

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

Meanwhile, a less-than-seamless situation is playing out in the Kootenay East riding, where United MLA Tom Shypitka has expressed his willingness to run with the BC Conservatives.

“The B.C. Conservatives have identified me as one of 3 MLAs they wish to bring aboard to their platform and have offered me a spot in my riding of Kootenay Rockies,” he wrote on Facebook Friday. “This is something I have said I will sign on to because it would enable me to work in the riding with the good folks I have worked with for the last 8 years.”

However, this would require the Conservatives’ current candidate, Pete Davis, to agree to switch ridings and run in Columbia River-Revelstoke, though it seems he’s not on board with doing so.

“I want to assure you that I remain fully committed as the candidate for the Conservative Party of BC in the Kootenay Rockies riding. Nothing has changed, and I would be deeply honored to earn your vote as your new MLA in October,” Davis also posted on Facebook Friday.

As such, it appears Shypitka may run against Davis as an independent.

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.