B.C. United has no seats in the legislature and little political presence after the suspension of its election campaign. Despite that, Kevin Falcon remains its leader.
Now, a former B.C. United MLA is renewing calls for Falcon to resign.
Karin Kirkpatrick, who represented West Vancouver-Capilano, says he’s standing in the way of the party’s ability to pay its debts and rebuild.
Falcon suspended the party’s election campaign in August amid dwindling donations and threw his support behind the upstart B.C. Conservatives.
Kirkpatrick first called for Falcon to resign on Aug. 28 when he blindsided candidates and party members with his announcement that he would be throwing in the towel on the election campaign. Falcon refused.
“Who can imagine the leader of one party throwing his support to and telling people to vote for a different party? He has no right to be the leader of B.C. United or the B.C. Liberals anymore,” said Kirkpatrick, one of the many abandoned B.C. United candidates who ran as Independents.
Kirkpatrick says she’s not on the party’s board and is solely a dues-paying member of B.C. United. Despite that, she says she has been getting calls from businesses owed money by the party asking who will pay them.
This week, she discovered that the party’s phone number listed on the website had been disconnected.
Falcon did not respond to requests for comment from CBC News.
The party said in a statement it is “focused on raising funds to pay our members, volunteers, campaign managers, candidates, and vendors the money owed to them.”
It said if a leader resigns, the constitution requires a date for a leadership race to be set within 28 days.
B.C. United said a leadership vote “would not only distract from our priority of paying our debts, but it would put B.C. United further in debt as a leadership race involving 40,000 members is costly to run.”
“Calling for or forcing a leadership race prior to paying the debts is self-serving and irresponsible,” the party said.
“To everyone that B.C. United owes money to, we appreciate your patience. Please know we remain committed to making good on our financial obligations.”
According to an internal party document leaked to CBC News in December, B.C. United owes $930,000 to various vendors and some former candidates.
One of those vendors is Joel Grenz, who runs Motiontide Media, a company which provided digital marketing and web services for the party.
He’s owed $15,000.
“We’re a small team and this definitely blows a bit of a hole in our revenue,” he said. “It’s pretty stressful.”
Grenz, who is also a Parksville city councillor, says he previously supported the B.C. Liberals and continued that support when Falcon changed the party’s name in April 2023, partly to avoid confusion with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party of Canada.
Grenz is supportive of Kirkpatrick’s efforts to rebuild a centrist party, which is why he’s continuing to host the party’s website, essentially for free.
However, he hopes Falcon will stay on as leader long enough to make creditors “whole.”
When B.C. United pulled the plug on its campaign in late summer, it didn’t officially disband the party. Now, as Katie DeRosa reports, Leader Kevin Falcon is quietly soliciting donations to prevent the party from declaring bankruptcy and collapsing entirely.
Election B.C. financing reports show that B.C. United party collected more than $223,000 in donations after it suspended its election campaign, including $86,000 after the Oct. 19 election.
Much of that came from monthly donations that were automatically withdrawn from party supporters’ bank accounts. Late last year, the party appealed to supporters to keep making their regular contributions to help the party pay its debts and avoid bankruptcy.
The party is being sued by one former candidate, Lumby mayor Kevin Acton, to recover more than $10,000 he spent on his campaign before it was suspended.
Acton told CBC News he’s “surprised that Kevin is still there after folding the party.” He believes the party needs someone new at the helm.
“If they picked up the right leader who had a bit of charisma, it might help the party get back on its feet, at least to clear up its debts,” Acton says.
Acton believes there’s a need for a centrist party but remains concerned about vote splitting among right-of-centre parties.
Kirkpatrick says if the party is able to start anew, it would have to change its name — again.
“B.C. United, that name is toxic now,” she said.
Kirkpatrick would like to see the party’s executive call an annual general meeting so that members can take a vote on removing Falcon as leader. She wants party executives not working toward party renewal to step aside.
“We [need to] get new leadership and we get a party and committed executives that really are excited about rebuilding the party — not writing the obituary for the party.”
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