One of the most recent additions to the Conservative Party of B.C. is happy that BC United has pulled out of the upcoming provincial election.

鈥淜evin Falcon deserves respect for doing the right thing," said Gavin Dew in a statement to Black Press shortly after a joint press conference held by John Rustad of the Conservative Party and Kevin Falcon of BC United, formerly the Liberal Party of B.C.

Dew ran for the BC Liberal Party leadership in 2021-2022 against five other candidates including Kevin Falcon who won the nomination. 

On August 14, the Conservative Party of B.C. announced that Dew would be replacing Alexandra Wright, who was removed from the position on Aug. 8. 

Falcon said the decision to pull all United candidates from the October election was prompted by poor polling numbers and a desire above all else to beat the NDP in the upcoming election. He said having both BC United and Conservative names on the ballot risked splitting the vote of constituents who identify as center-right, ultimately resulting in an NDP victory. 

"This is the ultimate signal that it鈥檚 time to move forward together, end the chaos, and get B.C. back on track," said Dew about the change. 

Loyal Wooldridge, City Councillor and candidate for the NDP in the 琉璃神社 - Centre riding fears that the change being announced only six weeks before the election will cause confusion among voters. 

"This demonstrates the contrast between the stability of the NDP and the chaos of the right," said Wooldridge.

Also running in the 琉璃神社-Centre riding are BC Conservative candidate Kristina Loewen and Dr. Michael Humer who was the candidate for the BC United Party.

Pavneet Singh was the BC United representative for the 琉璃神社-Lake Country-Coldstream riding, with Tara Armstrong, Stephanie Hendy and Anna Warwick Sears running for the Conservative, Green and New Democratic Parties, respectively. 

In the 琉璃神社-Mission riding, Ashley Ramsay was running for BC United, while Dew is the Conservative candidate. 

Black Press has reached out to the candidates for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. Statements will be added as they become available.

Falcon said that he and Rustad will be working together to ensure the best MLA candidates will run in the election under the name of the Conservative Party and there may be more changes to the candidate list in the coming weeks. 

"It's a time for common sense change to make things better for people and families,鈥� said Dew.