BC United MLA Teresa Wat will be crossing the floor to the BC Conservatives and seeking re-election under their banner.
Wat will become the third MLA in two months to abandon BC United, formerly the BC Liberals, to join the BC Conservatives, following Lorne Doerkson and Elenore Sturko.
In an emailed statement from a BC United spokesperson, the party said that if Wat feels her values align better with John Rustad, she should join the BC Conservatives.
“We can confirm that BC United MLA Teresa Wat, who was elected under the BC Liberal banner three times, has indicated her intention to leave our team and join John Rustad’s party,” reads the statement. “As we gear up for the October election, we want to ensure that all of our candidates share our vision and values. If Teresa Wat feels that her values better align with John Rustad’s Party, we wish her well.”
BC United also accused Wat’s staff of exporting large amounts of confidential BC United information before she announced her decision to leave the party.
“Sadly we can confirm that a significant amount of confidential member information was exported by her team, prior to her decision to leave.”
BC United told True North it maintains that Wat had exported confidential data before announcing her departure because the party is notified whenever information is exported from its servers.
True North reached out to Wat, but received no response.
In a BC Conservative press release, Wat said that she has been contemplating the move to the BC Conservatives for months after conversations with her constituents.
“This was not an easy decision, but one that I have been contemplating for many months. “After countless conversations with the constituents in my riding of Richmond North Centre, it became clear that the number one priority I hear all day, every day, is that the BC NDP must be defeated in the next election,” said Wat.
“It has also become clear that the best party to defeat the NDP is the BC Conservative Party.”
Polls show that the BC Conservatives are likely to win in Richmond North Centre, while the BC United is projected to place third.