Another BC United MLA Joins Provincial Conservatives, Second in 4 Days

Surrey South MLA Elenore Sturko (R) is sworn in at the legislature in Victoria on Oct.3, 2022. Ms. Sturko announced on June 3, 2024, that she has left BC United and joined the BC Conservative Party. (The Canadian Press/Dirk Meissner)

B.C. United MLA Elenore Sturko is jumping ship to the Conservative Party of B.C., the second MLA to defect from B.C. United to Join the Tories in the past four days.

The move comes just days after BC United caucus chair Lorne Doerkson announced his decision to cross the floor to join the Conservatives’ ranks.

Ms. Sturko, who was elected as a BC United MLA in 2022, said her defection is a bid to “rebuild the coalition that’s needed to defeat the NDP.”

“Like the voters in my riding, I don’t believe the NDP deserve to win the next election, but when we split the vote we are handing them an election win, and four more years of a David Eby government that has not delivered on housing, public safety, affordability, health care, education, or mental health and addictions,” Ms. Sturko said in a June 3 statement released by the Conservative Party.

The former soldier and RCMP officer will run in the Surrey-Cloverdale riding under the Conservative banner in this fall’s election.

Conservative Leader John Rustad described Ms. Sturko as “a terrific addition to the team,” saying she is a “practical example of the grassroots coalition that is growing across the province.”

“Eleanor’s decision to join us reinforces that we are building a big tent, with room for everyone who wants to defeat the NDP and elect a common-sense government that respects taxpayers and hard-earned wages,” Mr. Rustad said in the statement.

Ms. Sturko is known for being outspoken against the province’s drug policies and has also been vocal about the need to fix both the affordable housing crisis and the health-care system.

She says she “thought long and hard” about crossing the floor, adding that her decision was based on her belief “that a real coalition for common sense change is the key to winning the next election.”

United MLAs Joining Conservatives

Ms. Sturko’s decision comes after Mr. Doerkson announced May 31 his plan to join the Conservatives, saying he believed it is the only party that can beat the incumbent NDP in the Oct. 19 provincial election.

Ms. Sturko and Mr. Doerkson are not the only BC United MLAs to switch to the Conservatives. Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman left BC United in September 2023, giving the Conservatives official status in the legislature.

Data from Angus Reid found the New Democrats currently lead in vote intention at 41 percent, representing an 11-point lead over the Conservatives at 30 percent. BC United, which is currently the Official Opposition, had just a 16 percent share of voter support, representing a 50 percent drop from the party’s 2020 election popular vote.

The B.C. Conservative Party’s revival began in the fall of 2021 when executives of BC United blocked conservative commentator Aaron Gunn’s bid for leadership of the party.

Mr. Gunn was denounced by the NDP for expressing views such as denying that Canada has “systemic racism” or is guilty of genocide. He then decided to rebrand and revive the provincial Conservative Party.

Mr. Gunn was nominated as a candidate by the federal Conservative Party in December 2023, running for the North Island-Powell River riding in the next federal election.

The B.C. Conservatives got a boost when then-independent MLA John Rustad who had left the BC United, known as the B.C. Liberal back then, joined the Conservatives in February 2023.

Mr. Rustad was kicked out of the B.C. Liberal ​​caucus in 2022 for his views on climate change.

The Conservative and United leaders have said some have made attempts to unite the two parties, but the efforts haven’t succeeded.