Former BC United MLA Elenore Sturko has left the party and joined the BC Conservatives. Sturko, right, elected last month in the Surrey South byelection, is sworn in by clerk Kate Ryan-Lord at the legislature in Victoria, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dirk Meissner
VICTORIA – Another BC United member has left the party to join the Conservative Party of BC just months before the provincial election.
Surrey South MLA Elenore Sturko says in a statement that she’s joining the provincial Conservatives to “rebuild the coalition that’s needed to defeat the NDP.”
Her move comes after Lorne Doerkson, the former BC United caucus chair, defected from the official Opposition on Friday, and Sturko now brings the number of Conservative members in the legislature to four.
The Conservatives rejected a proposal last month from BC United to create a “non-competition” agreement, with Conservative Leader John Rustad and BC United Leader Kevin Falcon blaming each other for the talks’ collapse.
Sturko says in her statement that it’s easy to ignore the polls, but it is impossible to dismiss what she’s hearing when she’s talking to voters.
“In B.C., the big tent coalition wins elections, and has a record of delivering for British Columbians. I want to help John Rustad build that grassroots coalition of Conservatives, Liberals, and Independents into a winning team that can repair the damage caused by the NDP and their mismanagement and incompetence,” Sturko says in the statement.
She says she doesn’t believe the New Democrat government deserves to win the next election, but when the vote is split between the BC United and Conservative parties, they are handing the NDP victory.
Rustad says in the same statement that Sturko will be a terrific addition to the team, and a practical example of the grassroots coalition that is growing across the province.
“Elenore’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 hard earned wages,” Rustad says.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2024.
