MLA Elenore Sturko shocks BC United by crossing the floor to join Conservatives

B.C. politics got even juicier Monday, when star candidate Elenore Sturko, MLA for Surrey South, announced she was jumping ship from BC United to the BC Conservatives.

“Maybe it’s a plot twist people either did see or didn’t see coming,” laughed Sturko at the press conference she and BC Conservative leader John Rustad hosted on Monday morning at the B.C. Legislature.

The move was a big win for Rustad and his party.

“It’s definitely another blow for BC Untied, but this one stings even more,” said pollster Mario Canseco, the founder of Research Co. “You go back to the 2022 byelection—Kevin Falcon, Elenore Sturko side by side.”

That happy scene was a distant memory Monday, with Struko, a former RCMP officer, taking aim at Falcon, blaming his leadership for the decline of his party in opinion polling.

“If you are the leader of a coalition, you have one job. That job is to bring people together and keep people together—and Kevin Falcon failed at that job,” she said.

Falcon called a press conference Monday afternoon to address Sturko’s defection, noting the move surprised him, especially given the views candidates with BC Conservatives have previously espoused online,

“I am just so shocked that that’s the party with which she can find some alignment with her values and her principles,” said the BC United leader about his former colleague.

Flanked Monday morning by her new leader, John Rustad, each with easy smiles, Sturko faced tough questions about how she can run with Rustad and his party—after having been highly critical of him and his party's stance on issues like eliminating sexual orientation and gender identity programs in schools, also known as SOGI.

“There’s things that I won’t agree with every single person with my party, and I certainly didn’t agree with every single person in the party that I’m leaving,” said Sturko.

Sturko, who is gay, was also challenged about joining a party whose candidates expressed anti-LGBTQ2S+ views—including derogatory comments about her.

“I’ve not abandoned the LGBTQ+ community,” she said. “I’m part of it—in a big tent there’s room for everybody.”

Her defection was just three days after BC United MLA Lorne Doerkson switched to the BC Conservatives.

Both Doerkson and Sturko say beating the NDP is their motivation for the move.

“To do what I can to work with BC Conservatives to make sure we don’t split the vote,” Sturko said.

As for whether any more candidates might switch, Rustad was coy.

“We’re always looking for people to join and be part of what we're doing,” he said.

Surrey Pride president 'incredibly disappointed'

Some critics were quick to label Sturko a sellout to the LGBTQ2S+ causes she has publicly championed.

"To say we're incredibly disappointed within the Rainbow Community is an understatement," said Martin Rooney, president of Surrey Pride.

As a self-described "proud lesbian," Sturko has faced numerous online attacks since entering politics in 2022, including from some of her new Conservative colleagues. Paul Ratchford, who is running in the Vancouver-Point Grey riding, once dismissed her as a "woke, lesbian, social justice warrior."

Sturko told reporters she has received an apology from Ratchford following a "great conversation."

She also seemed to walk back her defence of the province's SOGI resources, which were designed to foster inclusive environments in schools but have been slammed by Rustad as an "assault on parents' rights."

Sturko suggested the program has been discredited by "misinformation, real or perceived" as well as "acknowledged issues with some of the materials."

"How do we build back the trust of parents?" she said Monday. "Finding an opportunity to create something new for our school system that respects legally enshrined rights and rebuilds the trust and finally puts this division to bed is, I think, a wonderful thing to do."

Rooney characterized the MLA's remarks as a "very safe political statement," and stressed that SOGI does not need replacing.

"We fought long and hard as marginalized communities – not only the Rainbow Community but other marginalized communities as well – to be accepted for who we are," he added.

"I'm an immigrant to this country myself. I really respect what Canada has and is. Can we make it better? Sure. But a Conservative government will not make it better."

During her announcement, Sturko repeatedly described her decision to switch parties as a "difficult" one, but said she is "proud" to be joining Rustad's party.

"We can continue to talk about the things that divide, but the reality is we need to find that common ground and work together," Sturko said.