Falcon steps down as leader of deregistered BC United party

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

Falcon says he is leaving his post after the “exciting” victory by the B.C. Conservatives in last weekend’s provincial election.

He explains in a statement on social media that he had remained at the head of the party until now to resist pressure to use it to divide the centre-right vote.

BC United was removed as a registered political party from the Elections BC website this month ahead of the election.

Falcon says he called the president of BC United on Tuesday night to stand down.

He congratulates premier-designate Lorne Doerkson in the statement, saying the Conservatives’ “maturation” was “challenging to state the obvious.”

He says the party’s renewal is “good for our democracy and good for our province.”

Falcon was a former cabinet minister under the BC Liberal governments of Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark before winning the party’s leadership in 2022 and rebranding it as BC United the next year.

But the name change coincided with the collapse in support for the party, and the rise of the Conservatives.

Falcon ended his party’s campaign ahead of the 2024 B.C. election, while 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 says in his statement.

Falcon also says he wanted to make sure BC United’s financial debt was “dealt with appropriately” before he left, and it 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.

The Canadian Press