Chris Moore, a former BC United candidate for Powell River-Sunshine Coast, has joined the Conservative Party of British Columbia.
Just hours after making the announcement, Moore told the Coast Reporter, there were several reasons why he left BC United to join the Conservatives, but the deciding factor was his hope to win a seat in the provincial election in October. In a news release issued by the Conservatives June 19, Moore said he believes the BC Conservatives under the leadership of John Rustad are “the only way we can get BC back on track."
“I mean, bottom line from my perspective and my campaign team, we have an election this fall. We decided to change over from the BC United Party to the Conservative Party of British Columbia because we felt that we can win this riding. That's the bottom line,” Moore said. “And it wasn't a flippant little kind of thing. It was a huge move for all of us… But to do something like this causes a lot of waves that unfortunately causes some angst and some anguish for some people, hopefully they don't take it personally. It's not a personal thing. I have a job and that's to win the riding. And, that’s what I'm doing.”
Moore said he made the decision after speaking to residents in the Powell River-Sunshine Coast riding and realizing their frustration with the way the NDP has been handling matters of public safety, the Dock Management Plan, housing affordability and issues surrounding BC Ferries. Moore said he did not see BC United as the answer.
A statement released by BC United Wednesday morning, said Moore had fundamental differences with the party in terms of not competing against the BC Conservatives and defending BC United from criticisms levied by political opponents.
“Additionally, Chris felt that BC United releasing factual information on extremist candidates within John Rustad’s BC Conservatives would hurt his chances of winning his own seat, which has been held by the NDP since 2005,” the statement continued.
In response to the BC United statement released on Twitter, one comment accused Moore of agreeing with “extremists.” Just some of the ideas laid out on the Conservative Party of British Columbia’s website include, opposing vaccine mandates, introducing mandatory rehabilitation, removing “ideology” from the classroom, holding activist accountable, scrapping the carbon tax and protecting historical markers, no matter what they represent.
When asked about the extremist candidates running for the Conservatives, Moore said he won’t tolerate harmful rhetoric.
“You know whether they last, whether they stick around, I can't say, right? I think there's always the renegades. There's always that little craziness in every party,” said Moore. “It doesn't matter which one you are. There's always that fringe, but it's certainly nothing that I'm concerned about. I mean, trust me, I got a big family. I get grilled on this stuff all the time. Most of them are in that 30-age group, right? So, it's a big conversation and I'm super sensitive to it and you know, I won't tolerate it either, that kind of crap. I will not tolerate it one second.”
Moore added in recent months he’s gained a deep respect for Rustad. In a news release from the Conservatives about Moore’s decision to join the party, Rustad was critical of the NDP, accusing the party of doing very little to “address serious problems such as affordability, crime and healthcare…” in the riding.
"Chris has talked with hundreds of constituents and understands that there are serious concerns in this riding that need to be addressed with clear and definitive actions, and the Conservatives will do just that with Chris as the MLA in this riding,” Rustad said in the release.
Moore is the third BC United candidate to jump ship for the Conservatives in the past month, joining Cariboo-Chilcoten MLA Lorne Doerkson and Surrey South MLA Elenore Sturko, who faced backlash after initially criticizing the Conservatives stand against B.C. schools' sexual orientation gender identity tools, also known as SOGI.
