Weaving the fringes
If the NDP or Conservatives fall, these are the alternatives organizing in the wings
The warmth of summer is upon us. The legislature has finished its session and MLAs are back in their ridings meeting with constituents.
The two major parties — the New Democrats and the Conservatives — will also be rallying their supporters, building their fundraising machines and getting ready for the eventual next provincial election campaign. That is because if either of them take their supporters for granted, there are other parties ready to take their place.
Depending on the political leanings of voters, there are a handful of smaller parties waiting in the wings for their chance at real, governing power. At the time of writing, British Columbia has 13 registered political parties that may be out and about this summer looking for your support.
Of those parties, a handful appear to mostly be the expression of one or two people's egos and grievances — independents in all but name. There are also some smaller parties that have been around for a long time but never shown any real organizing strength. However, three of the fringe parties have some potential to impact the next election, and possibly see their fortunes rise. After all, the BC Conservatives were a fringe party only a few years ago and now hold 41 seats in the Legislative Assembly.
And then there was One
Three months ago, Dallas Brodie was ejected from the BC Conservative caucus and became an independent MLA. She was followed by two MLAs who quit in solidarity. Last week Brodie announced she has now launched her own political party.
Anthony Koch, a Conservative strategist, described the BC Conservatives, saying, “I think it’s safe to say that the Conservative Party of British Columbia is probably the most right-wing party in the country, federally or provincially. I think we ran the most right-wing populist campaign that’s been run in Canada in several decades.” According to Dallas Brodie, she is so much further right than the Conservatives that, "[there] is almost no difference between them and the NDP that I can see at this point — it's NDP and NDP Light."
Brodie is joined by fellow Conservative-turned-independent MLA Tara Armstrong, who represents Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream. With two MLAs, One BC will receive official party status in the legislature, which ensures them participation in committees and to ask more frequent questions in question period. Armstrong will serve as the party House Leader in the legislature, and Brodie will be the party leader.
They are not joined by the other Conservative who quit to support Brodie, Jordan Kealy, who represents Peace River North. He has chosen to remain an independent.
“I will not become involved with a party unless it actually enhances representation for our region.”
Jordan Kealy, June 13, 2025
The party's website lists four priority areas for the new right wing party, listed as prosperity, infrastructure, democracy and culture. They promise to massively slash taxes and eliminate regulations; privatize healthcare and ban labour strikes; ban advance and mail-in voting; and end mass immigration — despite immigration being largely federally regulated. They also promise to “dismantle the reconciliation industry” — a specific fixation of Brodie’s.
The party's website offers little else about the nascent right wing alternative to John Rustad’s Conservatives, other than to invite people to donate to them.
Out of the ashes
If John Rustad is not occupied enough holding his political coalition together with a splintering right, the ghost of his former party is trying to pull back the centre.
Of course I don't mean BC United, which is still led by Kevin Falcon as he prevents anyone from reviving the former BC Liberal Party from the coma he put it in. Instead, former MLA for West Vancouver-Capilano, Karin Kirkpatrick, has launched Centre BC to fill the vacuum in the centre lane.
Thus far no MLA has broken from their party to join Centre BC, leaving them entirely out of the legislature. Kirkpatrick, who is serving as the party's leader, will need to get word out about her alternative movement through summer campaign events and community building.
The party's website offers a broad vision on how they would govern if the winds shifted their way in the next election. It includes strengthening the economy, removing barriers to building housing, improving a whole list of public services and tackling climate change.
Kirkpatrick has a tough road ahead, especially without the database and fundraising infrastructure of her former party. As well, with some of the extreme right wing figures out of the BC Conservative caucus, there is less pressure on the centrists in the party to break ranks and potentially cross the floor be a Centre BC MLA.
A barren field
Meanwhile, BC’s other third party seems to have stalled following the thrashing they received at the polls in the fall. The BC Greens lost half their vote share and their leader failed to win the seat she parachuted into. The party has since been looking for a new leader — with no luck as of yet.
This past Saturday the deadline to apply to run to be leader of the BC Greens came and went with no announcement from the party or any potential candidates. It is possible that they have candidates lined up, and will be making an announcement in the future. The party has scheduled a meet and greet with alluded-to “candidates”, with the option to donate to support the event.
The party already extended their deadline for candidates to apply from the end of May to this past Saturday. While it is likely the party won't go leaderless, it has lost a lot of ground since their breakthrough first seat in 2013. Having a leadership race that no one is publicly admitting to running for and no announcements even after their own deadline was extended speaks volumes about the state the party was left in after the 2024 election. No matter who picks up the mantle, they will have a much harder job ahead than the party has faced in decades.
Still, “Green” is a resilient brand. The Liberals revived under Gordon Wilson from the fringes, as did the Conservatives under John Rustad. British Columbians are open to switching parties — a potential opportunity for the major fringe parties, and a warning to the government and opposition.