UPDATE 3:30 p.m. – British Columbia Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon announced Wednesday that he was suspending BC United’s election campaign and encouraging supporters to instead back the rival B.C. Conservative Party, less than eight weeks before the province goes to the polls.

The seismic shift to the B.C. political landscape heralds the apparent demise of a party that claims eight former premiers and has existed in some form for more than 100 years.

But its endgame unspooled at lightning speed, according to a timeline offered by B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad at a joint news conference with Falcon on Wednesday.

Rustad said “low level” talks had recently been taking place but the first “straight up” discussion with Falcon to talk it thorough began at 9 p.m. Tuesday, continuing the next morning.

“I got back into politics because I wanted to build a bright future for my two daughters and for the next generation of British Columbians,” Falcon said in a statement issued by the Conservatives.

“Today, I’m stepping back for the same reason. I know that the best thing for the future of our province is to defeat the NDP, but we cannot do that when the centre-right vote is split.”

Falcon, who confirmed at the news conference that he would not be standing in the election, said he had heard from “thousands of people” that they were concerned about centre-right vote splitting.

Despite its status as the official Opposition, BC United has been lagging in the polls, far behind both the governing NDP and the BC Conservatives, who obtained less than two per cent of the vote in the 2020 election.

Nominations of BC United candidates including current legislators will now be withdrawn to allow the Conservatives to draw from them for its slate in the Oct. 19 election.

But neither Rustad nor Falcon would say whether pre-selected candidates for either party would be replaced. The statement issued by the Conservatives said that as part of the arrangement, the party had committed to review its candidates based on “an improved vetting process.”

Falcon said it was the end of the BC United party “for now … certainly for this election” but did not say the party would be officially disbanded.

Instead, Falcon said the two parties would “work together to assemble the best possible team.”

He said he told Rustad yesterday that he only agreed with him about “75 per cent” of the time but “on his very worst day” Rustad would make a better premier than the NDP’s David Eby on his best day.

Rustad said he thanked Falcon for making the “hard but right decision”. “This is the right thing to do for the province of British Columbia,” he said.

Falcon – who had said on Tuesday that the Conservatives were at risk of becoming a “conspiracy party” – said he and Rustad spoke for “many many hours” and there was “genuine graciousness on both sides.”

Rustad acknowledged the process had created “disruption” amid the process of choosing candidates, while Falcon apologized to BC United candidates and MLAs for keeping them in the dark about the talks.

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t bring them all into the fold,” he said.

Nevertheless, Rustad said he wanted to make sure “everyone feels welcome” under the BC Conservative banner and he was “thrilled” by the outcome which offered the best chance of ending Eby’s “radical” government.

“I’ve never doubted Kevin Falcon’s commitment to our province, and today, I applaud his decision to put B.C. first, as he’s done throughout his career,” Rustad said in the statement.

Reporting from Global News says some BC United candidates are expected to run for the BC Conservatives, a list that reportedly included Tom Shypitka in Kootenay East, Peter Milobar in Kamloops, Jaime Stein in Vancouver-Langara, and Ian Paton in Delta South.

Milobar was already announced as the BC United candidate in Kamloops-Centre, running against Kamal Grewal of the NDP, Randy Sunderman of the BC Greens, and Dennis Giesbrecht for the BC Conservatives.

Attempts by the parties since late last year to forge an alliance to defeat the governing New Democrats and Premier David Eby have previously failed.

BC United had been hit by a series of defections from its caucus including Abbotsford South’s Bruce Banman, Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson, Elenore Sturko in Surrey South, and Richmond North Centre MLA Teresa Wat.

Falcon had booted Rustad from the then-BC Liberal caucus in 2022 over comments casting doubt on the role of carbon dioxide emissions in climate change.

The New Democrat Party caucus earlier issued a statement highlighting previous comments Falcon and other BC United members had made about Rustad and the Conservatives.

The statement included Falcon saying previously: “Frankly, I don’t think there’s any scenario in which John Rustad would be remotely ready to step into the position of premier.”

Asked at the news conference if he had a job lined up in the private sector, Falcon said he had not.

“I doubt I’ll get many, but who knows,” he said with a laugh.