BC United caucus chair Lorne Doerkson defects to Conservatives

VICTORIA — The caucus chair for the BC United party is defecting to the BC Conservatives, adding to the woes of the province’s official opposition.

Lorne Doerkson, who represents Cariboo-Chilcotin, and BC Conservative Leader John Rustad announced the move that increases the party’s numbers in the legislature to three.

The move comes after talks between the two right-of-centre parties broke down amid failure to settle on a deal to avoid vote splitting in the fall provincial election.

Doerkson says in a statement that he made the move because the election set for October is “simply too consequential” and his constituents want to see a Conservative government.