After the leaders of the BC Conservatives, Green Party and NDP had clashed over the course of the debate, 30 seconds each was allotted for former BC Conservative MLAs Elenore Sturko and Dallas Brodie to talk about their new parties, CentreBC and OneBC, respectively.
asserted
Sturko → clash → parties
“We wanted to use that time to tell British Columbians what the point of us is,” Ms. Sturko said about her party in an interview on Wednesday.
asserted
Sturko → want → Wednesday
They exist in the shadows of the election coming to a conclusion this Saturday, struggling for attention and relevance in what’s mainly a showdown between the Conservatives and NDP, with the Greens in the ring.
asserted
what → exist → ring
It is the first time since 1996 that B.C. voters have been able to take their pick from more than three parties with elected members in the Legislature.
asserted
voters → take → Legislature
Ms. Sturko, a former Mountie who was first elected in 2022, has been telling voters that she isn’t pretending CentreBC will form government.
asserted
CentreBC → elect → government
CentreBC has only 35 candidates, and there are 93 seats in the provincial legislature.
asserted
CentreBC → have → legislature
Instead, Ms. Sturko said she hopes her party will win at least two seats in the election – but acknowledged even that will be a challenge.
asserted
that → say → election
“Some folks are like, `I love everything about your party.
asserted
I → love → party
I love what your party stands for.
asserted
party → love → what
If I vote for you the NDP will get in, and we hate them,’” she said.
asserted
she → vote → them
As is NDP Leader David Eby calling a snap election two years before a vote was expected, leaving her party scrambling, Ms. Sturko said.
asserted
Sturko → call → party
“We definitely would have benefitted from more runway,” she said.
asserted
she → benefit → runway
CentreBC was created in 2025 to offer an option for moderate voters.
asserted
CentreBC → create → voters
For a time in September, it was led by former Kamloops mayor Peter Milobar, who had quit the BC Conservatives in August over the leadership of Kerry-Lynne Findlay.
asserted
who → lead → Findlay
However, Mr. Milobar and some other defectors who had joined CentreBC returned to the BC Conservatives after a snap election was called.
asserted
election → join → Conservatives
Ms. Sturko, once a star candidate for the BC Conservatives, was removed from the caucus in 2025 by former leader John Rustad, who had said at the time that she was not a team player.
asserted
she → remove → time
After sitting as an independent, she joined CentreBC in September.
asserted
she → sit → September
The member of the legislature from Surrey, who is gay, has said she was prevented from expressing her “more socially Liberal beliefs,” while she was a Conservative.
asserted
she → say → beliefs
Dallas Brodie of OneBC, which is running 34 candidates with an additional five unaffiliated candidates, said she would happy to get four or five people in the legislature.
asserted
she → run → legislature
And then she clarified: “I’d be happy with two.
asserted
I → clarify → two
I’d be happy with one,” she said.
asserted
she → say → one
Ms. Brodie said the election came about so quickly that it was hard for her party to get organized.
asserted
party → say → ?
Still, she said she has been getting media attention.
asserted
she → say → attention
“I feel like, for a small party, we have been very good at getting our message out there.”
asserted
we → feel → message
OneBC had two seats in the legislature before the snap election, but the other MLA is not running for re-election.
asserted
MLA → have → election
Ms. Brodie had co-founded the party in 2025, after then Conservative leader John Rustad kicked her out of his caucus, alleging she had publicly mocked and belittled testimony from former residential school students.
asserted
she → co → students
She was accused of mimicking individuals who recounted stories of abuses – including child sexual abuse.
asserted
who → accuse → abuse
“I spoke the truth because it matters.
asserted
it → speak → truth
I will never back down from it.
asserted
I → back → it
It is an indisputable fact that the number of bodies discovered at Kamloops is zero,” she wrote on social media after she was ejected from caucus.
asserted
she → discover → caucus
In the legislature, OneBC has proposed a bill against gender-affirming care for transgender people.
asserted
OneBC → propose → people
Also, it has proposed banning land acknowledgements by public institutions and employees.
asserted
it → propose → institutions
Asked about the two parties, pollster Shachi Kurl says there was a moment when CentreBC had a chance to captivate voters looking for a new option, but the moment has passed.
asserted
moment → ask → option
“The way things happened in this campaign really left CentreBC standing there with their hands in their pockets, so to speak,” said Ms. Kurl, the president of the Angus Reid Institute.
asserted
Kurl → happen → Institute
Ms. Kurl said a shortage of candidates is a challenge for both CentreBC and OneBC.
asserted
shortage → say → CentreBC
Political scientist Hamish Telford said he would be surprised if either party elected any candidates.
asserted
party → say → candidates
However, he said they could cause what’s known as the spoiler effect, affecting election outcomes by taking votes in close ridings.
uncertain
what → say → ridings
The University of the Fraser Valley professor said he expects OneBC could take votes from BC Conservatives, while CentreBC could do the same for some Conservatives and New Democrats.
uncertain
CentreBC → say → Conservatives
The Aporia
