Kevin Falcon steps down as leader of deregistered B.C. United party

VANCOUVER — Former British Columbia opposition leader Kevin Falcon has stepped down as head of the deregistered B.C. United party, two years after it ended its 2024 election campaign to support the provincial Conservatives.

Falcon says he is leaving after what he called the “exciting” victory by the B.C. Conservatives in last weekend’s provincial election. In a statement on social media, he said he had stayed on to resist pressure to use B.C. United to divide the centre-right vote. He said he called the party’s president on Tuesday night to step down. B.C. United was removed from the Elections B.C. website as a registered political party this month.

In his statement, Falcon congratulated premier-designate Lorne Doerkson and said the Conservatives’ “maturation” was “challenging to state the obvious.” He also said the party’s renewal was “good for our democracy and good for our province.”

Falcon was a cabinet minister in the B.C. Liberal governments of Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark. He won the party’s leadership in 2022 and rebranded it as BC United the following year. The name change coincided with a collapse in support for the party and the rise of the Conservatives. Falcon ended BC United’s campaign ahead of the 2024 election, and many of its candidates switched allegiance to the Conservatives, including prominent figures in the incoming government.

“The B.C. Conservatives have brought fresh energy into provincial politics, attracting a new generation of young British Columbians and common-sense ideas,” Falcon said. He also said he wanted B.C. United’s financial debt “dealt with appropriately” before he left. The debt has now been paid in full. “The organization can close this chapter on solid footing, with its obligations honoured.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2026.