In a blow for the opposition BC United (BCU), formerly known as the BC Liberal Party, Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman has crossed the floor to the right-wing Conservative Party of British Columbia (CPBC).
Banman joins another former BCU MLA, John Rustad, who was tossed from BCU in 2022 over his climate change denialism. In a release issued by the CPBC, Banman invoked federal politics with an attack on “...Trudeau-backed policies like the punishing carbon tax” before going after the BC NDP for the “...the ideological NDP education agenda that teaches students what to think instead of how to think.”
Abbotsford has long been a stronghold for BC United and Banman’s defection is a hit for the poll-trailing BC United as British Columbians’s fail to understand the party rebranding after knowing it for 19 years while the party ruled as government from 2001 to 2020.
With the addition of Banman the CPBC now has official party status with two members in the BC Legislature, equalling the number of BC Green Party MLAs.
Full disclosure - This was written by Sarah Elder-Chamanara, Madame Premier's founder and owner, who is also a former political staffer and party member for the BC Liberal Party, now known as BC United.