A key question in the upcoming provincial election campaign this year will be what percentage of the vote the BC Conservative Party will drain from the BC United Party.
And uniting the right was the first question raised by an audience member at BC United Party leader Kevin Falcon鈥檚 townhall forum held Wednesday night at the Ramada Hotel & Conference Centre.
鈥淲hat are we going to do about uniting the right. Otherwise it will be a split vote and we鈥檒l get the NDP again,鈥� said the questioner.
Falcon acknowledged the concern, saying Conservative supporters 鈥渁re good people but misled.鈥�
鈥淭he difference for me is that I am running to win, not running just to be a candidate,鈥� he responded.
Falcon cited his own political history, beginning as a party organizer for the BC Reform Party and how he came to see then Liberal leader Gordon Campbell as someone who could create a coalition of support across the political spectrum.
鈥淎t that time I was a Reform Party supporter, and someone suggested maybe I should work for Campbell and the Liberals. I was not a Liberal back then so the idea of working for that party didn鈥檛 seem for me,鈥� he recalled.
But Campbell convinced him otherwise, and Falcon says Campbell went from the lowest point of political popularity in B.C. in 1997 to winning a majority in 2001.
As with the previous Social Credit Party coalition built by premier Bill Bennett in the 鈥�70s, the success of the Campbell regime is what Falcon wants to revive under the BC United banner.
To that end, Falcon says his party has been serious in recruiting candidates, asking them to fill out a 40-page questionnaire and have both a social media scan and criminal check done, a process he called ruling out any surprises posed by candidates under the spotlight of an election campaign.
鈥淲e are not just asking people in a room who wants to be a candidate and who puts their hand up is it,鈥� Falcon said.
鈥淲e are getting great candidates who want to make a difference鈥nd we want to create a new government that is accountable to people. We want to get things done.
鈥淚f we makes promises, we want to follow through on them鈥e want to get the province moving again.鈥�
Falcon feels party leadership will be a key issue for voters in the next provincial election, and he thinks the United platform and his past experience as a Liberal cabinet minister will ultimately win over voters who may be leaning towards the Conservatives right now.
But a new poll from the Vancouver-based Research Co. found the United Party trailing not only the governing BC NDP but also the BC Conservative Party.
Released last week, the results showed if an election were held now, the NDP had a 46 per cent positive response, BC Conservatives at 17 per cent and BC United at 17 per cent and BC Greens at 11 per cent.
The 琉璃神社 forum was part of a swing through the Okanagan for Falcon, as his campaign-style speech laid out BC United Party policies on a number of issues along with criticism of NDP inefficiencies and broken promises.
Watch for more coverage of Falcon鈥檚 townhall forum at kelownacapnews.com.
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