MLA Teresa Wat says she's quitting BC United and joining B.C. Conservatives to beat NDP
A veteran Opposition member announced her defection to British Columbia's Conservatives on Tuesday, becoming the fourth elected member to bolt to Leader John Rustad's right-of-centre party ahead of the fall provincial election.
Teresa Wat said quitting the Opposition BC United Party to join Rustad's Conservatives is the only path available for a free-enterprise coalition to defeat the New Democrats in the Oct. 19 election.
Wat, an 11-year veteran at the B.C. legislature and a strong multicultural representative of the suburban Vancouver City of Richmond, said that getting rid of David Eby's New Democrats is her top priority and the B.C. Conservatives offer the best opportunity.
"After countless conversations with the constituents in my riding of Richmond North Centre, it became clear that the number 1 issue I hear all day, every day, is that the B.C. NDP must be defeated in the next election," she said at a news conference alongside Rustad. "It has also become clear that the best party to defeat the NDP is the B.C. Conservative Party."
Wat joins former BC United members Bruce Banman, Elenore Sturko and Lorne Doerkson who have also signed on with the B.C. Conservatives, boosting the party caucus to five members in B.C.'s 87 seat legislature.
The B.C. Conservatives, who received less than two per cent of the popular vote in B.C.'s 2020 election, now appear to be in a current polling position where they could challenge the NDP to form government this fall, said Mary Polak, a former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister and a four-term member of the legislature.
BC United was formerly known as the B.C. Liberals, but party members supported a name change in April 2023.
Polak said polls offer a snap shot in time and are not always indicative of what can happen during a campaign or on election day, but the "trend is not going in BC United's way."
She said it would be "generous" at this time to see support for the BC United rise above the Green Party, which won three seats in 2017 and two seats in 2020.
"For them to get back to a place where they are contenders, something huge would have to happen," said Polak.
She said she understood Wat's decision to join the Conservatives.
"I'm not surprised," Polak said. "Teresa works hard. She knows her community and she's going to be looking and saying, 'where do I best line up.'"
Wat said over the past months it became apparent to her and her constituents the B.C. Conservatives are in the best position to defeat the NDP.
"All day, every day when I walk around my riding, Richmond North Centre, when I'm sitting in the restaurant enjoying my dim sum lunch, when I'm shopping getting my groceries in the supermarket, when I'm waiting to have my cat have a grooming, when I'm shopping trying to buy some clothes in the mall, everybody comes to me and says, 'Teresa, we need to defeat the NDP.'"
Wat said she was disappointed the BC United party suggested she's taken sensitive voter information with her to the Conservatives, saying she did nothing untoward and will follow election rules.
She said the information was part of her riding's election-readiness preparations.
"It's really regrettable BC United used this line of attack against me."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2024.
Correction
A previous story said Polak was a five-term member of the legislature.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Beautiful in its own way': New forest emerges in Jasper National Park, bringing protection and new opportunities
Charred stumps and the remains of fire-ravaged trees still cover large tracts of land on the Jasper landscape, but life is returning quickly down below.
Bloc Quebecois ready to extract gains for Quebec in exchange for supporting Liberals
The Bloc Québécois says its ready to wheel and deal with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's party for support during confidence votes now that the Liberal government's confidence and supply agreement with the NDP has ended.
Dog mauled to death in B.C. yard after 3 pit bulls jump fence: police
A 12-year-old collie was killed by three pit bulls in the B.C. Interior Sunday morning, according to authorities.
video ‘Not checking out yet’: Woman with incurable cancer vows to keep fighting
Heather Appleton just renewed her passport for another ten years. “I’m not checking out yet,” said Appleton, 61, who has the incurable cancer, Multiple Myeloma.
Trump threatens to jail adversaries in escalating rhetoric ahead of pivotal debate
With just days to go before his first and likely only debate against U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris, former U.S. president Donald Trump posted a warning on his social media site threatening to jail those “involved in unscrupulous behavior” this election, which he said would be under intense scrutiny.
'It's morally wrong': A rural Alberta town reacts to homeless shelter closure
At the end of a side street in Slave Lake, Alta., Lynn Bowes looks at a grey job-site trailer with boarded-up windows and doors that once operated as her town's only homeless shelter.
Over 200 firearms seized in weapons investigation: Waterloo Regional Police
According to police, during a traffic stop in Waterloo, officers noticed firearms and ammunition inside the vehicle.
Military surplus store in Calgary, destination of celebrity shoppers, closing doors
Cher, Anthony Hopkins, Heath Ledger, Alec Baldwin and Tom Hardy are just a few of the celebrities John Cumming met while growing up in his family's military surplus store.
Slide over salsa: K-pop takes socialist Cuba by storm
Socialist Cuba, the birthplace of salsa and other rhythms that have conquered the world, is now surrendering to the invasion of South Korean pop music.