British Columbia Election 2024: The next Member of Parliament for the United District of British Columbia will run as an independent candidate

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Karin Kirkpatrick, the BC United MP for West Vancouver-Capilano, has announced that she will run as an independent candidate in the October 19 provincial election.

Kirkpatrick had previously announced she would not seek re-election and planned to be on Easter Island instead of campaigning. But she said Monday that her voters needed a centrist choice when United Leader Kevin Falcon pulled the plug on his party’s campaign.

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“Looking at the polls, it looks like it’s going to be a pretty close election between the Conservatives and the NDP,” Kirkpatrick said. “Neither one is an option for me.

“Because the race is going to be so close, it’s very realistic to expect that a handful of independents… could have a significant impact on holding the government to account, regardless of who is in government.”

Kirkpatrick, a chartered accountant who also holds masters of law and business administration degrees, has served on the board of Family Services of Canada, as associate dean of UBC’s Sauder School of Business and as CEO of Family Services of Greater Vancouver, among several other nonprofit positions.

She was Minister for Housing, Child Care, Autism and Accessibility, Gender Equality and Inclusion in the Falcon Cabinet.

“I have heard loud and clear from members of our community that they do not want to vote for a New Democratic Party (NDP) government, but they feel deeply uncomfortable supporting the BC Conservatives,” Kirkpatrick said outside the Ferry Building Gallery at Ambleside Landing in West Vancouver.

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“They want fiscal responsibility and a strong economy, but they don’t want to vote for a party that tolerates extreme views and conspiracy theorists.”

Kirkpatrick, elected in 2020 with 53.55 per cent of the vote, was endorsed Monday by former three-term West Vancouver councillor Craig Cameron and former five-term B.C. Liberal MP and cabinet minister Ralph Sultan.

“She has the experience, the tenacity, the social awareness and a good mind for finance and business,” Sultan said. “No one is better equipped to represent this community than she is.”

Other incumbent members of the United Legislative Assembly running as independents in British Columbia include Dan Davies (Peace River North), Mike Bernier (Peace River South), Coralee Oakes (Prince George-North Cariboo) and Tom Shypitka (Kootenay-Rockies).

Krkpatrick said that while there has been some talk of starting a new party, it is not a priority.

“There was a lot of talk about new parties, all over British Columbia, people in their basements trying to start new parties,” Kirkpatrick said. “We decided we had to focus on getting elected.”

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Then, she said, an option would be to talk about a new centrist party.

“We have an opportunity to begin writing a new chapter in British Columbia politics and building a positive future.”

Kirkpatrick’s campaign has “no funds, no volunteers,” she said, but she does have enough volunteers willing to go door-to-door and raise money.

The Conservative candidate in West Van-Capilano is Lynne Block, an educator and school board member. The NDP candidate is Sara Eftekhar, a nurse.

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