Group seeks to resuscitate ‘mainstream’ BC United, calls on Falcon to quit as leader

VICTORIA — Politics in British Columbia could be getting more crowded as a group tries to take over and revive the moribund BC United party, to give voters what they call a “principled, mainstream centre-right alternative” in the province.

The group called Unite Liberal BC launched on Thursday with a call for BC United leader Kevin Falcon to step down from the position that he never relinquished after he shelved the party and ended its campaign ahead of the 2024 provincial election.

They also want the three remaining board members to step down, so party members can decide the future of BC United.

The moves come amid upheaval in the official Opposition ranks of the B.C. Conservatives, whose caucus has seen nine resignations under new leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay in the past month.

Lead organizer for Unite Liberal BC, Carol Fielding, says BC United remains an active, debt-free registered political entity with valuable assets and a constitution that vests authority in its membership.

Fielding, a past member of BC United’s executive council, says on social media that Unite Liberal BC is a grassroots network of organizers, former party executives, riding association leaders, volunteers and donors, who want to restore democratic member governance to the party.

She said on social media the BC Liberal Party, which changed its name to BC United, had served as the primary free-enterprise coalition capable of defeating the NDP and governing British Columbia since 1991.

“Right now, four individuals (including Falcon) are holding the keys to an organization built by tens of thousands of dedicated volunteers and donors,” she said.

She said Unite Liberal BC is not a party.

Critics of Findlay, including some of the recent B.C. Conservative defectors, have said she has pushed the party too far to the right.

Five defectors say they will sit as a new party when the legislature resumes next month.

Also vying for voters’ attention is CentreBC, which bills itself as a middle-of-the-road alternative to Findlay’s Conservatives and Premier David Eby’s NDP.

Findlay, who lacks a seat in the legislature, is running in a byelection scheduled for Sept. 26.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press