Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly claimed that two BC United staffers went on to work for the BC Conservatives. Upon further verification, this was found not to be the case. This article has been updated to reflect the interview subject’s statements more accurately.
BC United was already struggling to find financial support from donors but a costly $1 million ad campaign to introduce British Columbians to party leader Kevin Falcon was the final nail in the coffin for the party, a source close to the campaign told True North.
A senior staff member who worked on BC United’s election campaign spoke to True North on the condition of anonymity.
Last week, BC United leader Kevin Falcon announced that his party would be withdrawing from the coming fall election and endorsing the BC Conservatives in a bid to defeat Premier David Eby and his NDP. The decision was made as part of an agreement between the two parties, which involves a commitment from the BC Conservatives to review its candidate vetting process.
The move comes as the party has been bleeding support for the past year and a half to the BC Conservatives after the expulsion of Conservative leader John Rustad the former BC Liberal party which rebranded as BC United.
However, a senior BC United staff member says that the party’s eventual demise began when the party’s executive barred conservative activist Aaron Gunn from running to become leader.
In 2021, Gunn attempted to run for the leadership of the BC Liberal party, as the party has historically been a coalition between federal Liberals and Conservatives opposed to the NDP.
However, Gunn was disqualified from the race after the leadership election organizing committee determined that Gunn’s view that Canada had not committed genocide against Indigenous people was allegedly intolerant and not reflective of the party’s views.
“Not allowing Gunn to run started off the whole thing,” the BC United staffer told True North.
“From the moment that Aaron Gunn was disqualified, everything was set in motion.”
Once Gunn had been disqualified, the BC Conservatives elected a new board of directors and took the fringe party in a new direction. Gunn is now a candidate for the federal Conservatives in the North Island – Powell River riding on Vancouver Island.
The staffer says that Rustad’s ejection was also bad timing for BC United, as it paved the way for the BC Conservatives to have Rustad step in as the party’s leader and give the party representation in the legislature.
Not only did the BC Liberals create a competitor for themselves on the centre-right, but the party’s rebrand to BC United in spring 2023 failed in its execution.
Despite this, the staffer says that keeping the BC Liberal brand would not have helped the party much, as the federal Liberal party is unpopular in the province. However, he says the branding was “awful” and the party’s efforts to notify the public of the rebranding were lacking.
He says that not only was the party’s new name bad, as it resembles the name of a soccer team, but the party’s logo and colours of charcoal, teal, and pink were also poor choices.
The staffer blamed two other BC United staffers who he claims went on to subsequently “start supporting” the BC Conservatives following the failed rebrand.
True North attempted to contact the BC United Caucus to give them an opportunity to respond to these claims but was unable to reach anybody at their office.
According to the staffer, the worst mistake was a $1 million ad campaign the party had launched in late January to introduce the province to Falcon and the rebranded party.
He says that the party did not have $1 million to spare on an ad campaign, but drew the money from the party’s riding associations in the hope that an influx of donations after the ads rolled would compensate for the investment.
However, the campaign failed to familiarize British Columbians with BC United as the BC Liberals’ successor.
A combination of bad advertisements and public opinion polls showing BC United’s continual fall made donors hesitant to give their money to the party, leaving BC United with serious financial problems.
The staffer says that the ad campaign leaving the party broke was the final nail in BC United’s coffin, and that there was nothing anyone could do to prevent the party’s imminent collapse.
As Falcon and BC United have exited the race, they are encouraging their party’s supporters to vote for the BC Conservatives to defeat the NDP.
British Columbia’s election is scheduled for October 19, 2024.