British Columbia United leader Kevin Falcon said Conservative leader John Rustad has rejected an offer aimed at preventing a vote split that could see the NDP win. In doing so, Falcon said Rustad “placed his own ambition above the best interests of British Columbia.” “As British Columbians continue to ask John Rustad and myself on the campaign trail why we could not find common ground, I can confidently say BC United did everything possible to secure a free enterprise, non-competition framework,” said Falcon in a Friday statement. “Our BC United team remains focused on the upcoming election, presenting credible and accomplished candidates who are ready to govern and offering a positive vision for the future of British Columbia.” .Falcon said the non-competition framework would have seen United and the Conservatives not merge. He added they would be responsible for their own leaders, fundraising, and election campaigns. They would agree not to attack each other during the election. The United leader went on to say the parties would not run candidates against the MLAs who are running for re-election. This is 15 United seats and two Conservative ones. The Conservatives would run 47 candidates and United would run 46 because it has more incumbents to protect. The seats would be divided between the parties in a draft format, where the Conservatives can make three choices for each one United selects until they have picked the same number. From that point, they will alternate choices until the total number of seats for each party is reached. If the combined seat total in the election exceeds the NDP, they would form a coalition government. The premier will be the party leader that won more seats, and the one with the smaller number will be the deputy premier and hold a senior cabinet portfolio. Before Friday, he said there were two official meetings to attempt to explore co-operation between United and the Conservatives. The first meeting took place on May 2 in Vancouver between two United representatives and two Conservatives. He pointed out this meeting confirmed a mutual interest in exploring common ground, addressed misconceptions from unofficial representatives, and agreed on continuing negotiations in good faith. The second meeting occurred on Wednesday in Vancouver between two United representatives and two Conservatives. “However, the resulting non-competition framework proposed by BC United was ultimately rejected by John Rustad and despite an invitation to do so, no counter-proposal was offered,” said Falcon. Falcon said on May 14 discussions were taking place in private with the BC Conservatives about merging United with it to see if they can beat the NDP. READ MORE: Kevin Falcon says he is speaking with BC Conservatives about merger“Egos need to be put aside,” he said..He said these talks are focusing on finding common ground. When it comes to names, he acknowledged the Conservatives have an advantage over United. Rustad responded by saying the Conservatives and United would not be merging before the upcoming BC election. “Kevin Falcon declined our offers in December 2023 to discuss a possible merger — with a single message stating, and I quote, ‘F*ck off,’” he said. “In February, we tried again and BC United stated they’d be interested in speaking, but Kevin Falcon would ‘dictate’ the terms.”.On Thursday, Falcon presented the Conservatives with an offer, despite it being four months before an election and United being tied with the Greens in recent polls. In this offer, Rustad said he “demonstrated that he will always put himself first and will do absolutely anything for power: before the BC United Party, before his own candidates, and ultimately before the province.” Rustad said on May 16 he will be in charge of the BC Conservatives in the October election. READ MORE: Rustad says BC United would have to merge into ConservativesThe Conservatives will run a full slate of 93 candidates. “Any merger would be BC United folding and running under a Conservative banner,” he said.
