BC United renting ballroom for election watch party

BC United has rented out a ballroom at the Sutton Place Hotel in downtown Vancouver to host a watch party on election night — something usually done by political parties that are actually running.

A former B.C. Premier will be attending the event as a special guest, according to invitations.

“We’ve all been watching the BC General Election closely, and as it comes to an end on Saturday, October 19th, we want to invite you to join B.C.’s former Premier, the Honourable Gordon Campbell, for a discussion on the history and lessons of building a strong British Columbia, following which we will watch the 2024 General Election Results,” the invitation says.

The BC United collapsed in late August, withdrawing its candidate nominations and endorsing the BC Conservative Party instead — and leaving dozens of staff, volunteers, and candidates in the dark about when their campaign expenses would be reimbursed.

Sitting MLA and independent candidate Karin Kirkpatrick says the optics are not amazing.

“There are volunteers who worked on the election campaign who, you know, they prepay for things like signs, and many of them are owed thousands of dollars,” Kirkpatrick said.

“They can’t get a response back from BCU in terms of when they’re going to be reimbursed, and then they get invited to a party? A watch party, that obviously somebody is paying for, is that where the money is going so that they can’t be reimbursed?”

Kirkpatrick says she’s disappointed Campbell will be attending the event, saying he should have stood up for the party he led for many years.

“He should have stood up to protect this party against these other interests, and I don’t know what’s happened to him and where he’s parked his principles,” she said.

1130 NewsRadio reached out to BC United for comment.