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Kevin Falcon

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Kevin Falcon
Leader of BC United[a]
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 5, 2022
Preceded byShirley Bond (interim)
Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia
In office
May 16, 2022 – September 21, 2024
Preceded byShirley Bond
Succeeded byJohn Rustad
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Vancouver-Quilchena
In office
April 30, 2022 – September 21, 2024
Preceded byAndrew Wilkinson
Succeeded byDallas Brodie
12th Deputy Premier of British Columbia
In office
March 14, 2011 – September 5, 2012
PremierChristy Clark
Preceded byColin Hansen
Succeeded byRich Coleman
Minister of Finance of
British Columbia
In office
March 14, 2011 – September 5, 2012
PremierChristy Clark
Preceded byColin Hansen
Succeeded byMike de Jong
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Surrey-Cloverdale
In office
May 16, 2001 – April 16, 2013
Preceded byBonnie McKinnon
Succeeded byStephanie Cadieux
Minister of Health Services of
British Columbia
In office
June 10, 2009 – November 30, 2010
PremierGordon Campbell
Preceded byGeorge Abbott
Succeeded byColin Hansen
Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure of British Columbia
In office
January 26, 2004 – June 10, 2009
PremierGordon Campbell
Preceded byJudith Reid
Succeeded byShirley Bond
Minister of State for Deregulation
of British Columbia
In office
June 5, 2001 – January 26, 2004
PremierGordon Campbell
Succeeded byRick Thorpe
Personal details
Born1963 (age 61–62)[1]
West Vancouver, British Columbia
Political partyBC United
ResidenceNorth Vancouver, British Columbia
OccupationFinancial executive

Kevin Falcon is a Canadian provincial politician who has been the leader of BC United since 2022 and was the Leader of the Opposition from 2022 to 2024.[2] He was the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the district of Vancouver-Quilchena, from April 2022, when he won the seat in a by-election until the 2024 provincial election, for which he suspended his party's campaign and withdrew his candidacy for re-election.[3] He formerly served as the MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale as a member of the then BC Liberals from 2001 to 2013.[4] He served as both the 12th deputy premier of British Columbia, and the province's minister of Finance.[5][4]

Early life and career

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Born in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Falcon attended Vancouver College, an all-boys Catholic preparatory high school, where he said he got free tuition due to his family's low income.[1][6]

Falcon studied political science at Simon Fraser University (SFU), where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree.[4] He was a member of the Young Socreds on campus while future Premier Christy Clark was also at SFU.[1]

After graduation, Falcon was part of a movement that saw Doug McCallum upset incumbent mayor Bob Bose of the NDP-affiliated Surrey Civic Electors party in 1996, and the election to council of future mayor Dianne Watts.[1]

Falcon set up a communications consultancy, Access Group, in 1998.[1] He was a lead organizer of the "Total Recall" effort to recall a number of BC New Democratic Party MLAs in 1999.[7][1]

Provincial politics (2001–2013)

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Falcon became the BC Liberal nominee for Surrey-Cloverdale in 1999, defeating incumbent Bonnie McKinnon.[1] He was elected in the 2001 British Columbia general election, and re-elected in the 2005, and 2009 elections.[4]

Campbell ministry

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Following the election of a Liberal majority in 2001, Falcon joined Gordon Campbell's cabinet. He was appointed to the newly created position of Minister of State for Deregulation, where he cut "red tape" (ie, regulations that create costs or frustration for consumers and producers while providing little benefit to the public).[8][9]

Falcon's reforms are credited with moving B.C. to among the best-performing provinces: economic growth increased from 1.9% below the provincial average between 1994 and 2001 to 1.21% above the average between 2002 and 2006.[8][10]

In 2004, Falcon was elevated to Minister of Transportation, following the resignation of the then minister, Judith Reid after the BC Legislature raids linked to the sale of BC Rail ("Railgate").[1] In that role, he changed TransLink's governance structure to introduce a government-appointed board of professionals (engineers, accountants, etc.) to run day-to-day operations, and a council of mayors to deal with long term planning.[11] He also introduced the Gateway Program, a $3 billion regional transportation strategy for Metro Vancouver that launched the construction of the new Port Mann Bridge.[12]

In June 2009, Falcon was appointed as Minister of Health.[1]

Campaign for Liberal leadership

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On November 3, 2010, Premier Gordon Campbell announced that he would step down as Premier of British Columbia once his successor was chosen. On November 30, 2010, Falcon launched his campaign for the 2011 BC Liberal Party leadership, with policy stances that included lowering the harmonized sales tax, increasing trade with Asia, providing childcare options, and increasing the minimum wage.[13] At that time, Falcon's social media traffic was the highest of declared candidates.[14] On February 26, 2011, Falcon narrowly lost his bid to become the Liberal leader, and the province's Premier, to Christy Clark by a margin of 52% - 48% in the third round of voting by party members.

Clark ministry

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The new premier, Christy Clark, included Falcon in her cabinet, appointing him Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier.

In August 2012, expecting the birth of his second daughter Rose, Falcon indicated he would not run in the 2013 election.[15]

Break from political office (2013–2021)

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After leaving the legislature, Falcon moved to North Vancouver and joined Vancouver-based Anthem Capital as their Executive Vice President.[16][17] He also took on volunteer roles with non-profit organizations including the Canuck Place Foundation, Lions Gate Hospital Foundation and the Streetohome Foundation.[4] In February 2014, he was also named as an honorary director of the Surrey Board of Trade.[18]

He endorsed Maxime Bernier in the 2017 Conservative Leadership Race.[19] Falcon worked with a real estate developer friend to raise $130,000 for Bernier in a single night - a record for the campaign at the time.[20]

Return to political office (2021–2025)

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BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson announced his resignation on 26 October 2020,[21] and officially resigned on 17 February 2021, triggering a year-long BC Liberal leadership race.[22] Falcon officially joined the race a month later.[5] In his launch speech, Falcon committed to renaming the BC Liberal Party in consultation with members to better reflect the party's values.[23]

On October 31, 2021, Diamond Isinger, campaign manager for fellow leadership candidate Michael Lee, shared a statement about an "incident of sexual & personal harassment" with a Falcon campaign staffer. Insinger said she went public with her allegations "due to the lack of action taken" after addressing her concerns privately with the Falcon campaign. Falcon fired the staffer the day after Isinger's statement.[24]

Falcon won the leadership on February 5, 2022, crossing the 50% threshold required to win on the fifth ballot.[2] Following Falcon's win, Andrew Wilkinson formally resigned as an MLA to free up his seat in Vancouver-Quilchena for Falcon to run.[25] A by-election for the riding was called on April 2, 2022.[26] Falcon won the by-election, being elected MLA for the riding.[27]

In August 2022, Liberal MLA John Rustad drew criticism for suggesting that CO2 emissions were not contributing to climate change. Falcon fired Rustad from the BC Liberal Caucus, adding: “John Rustad does not speak on behalf of caucus on this issue.”[28] Rustad later joined the BC Conservatives and was acclaimed as their new leader in March 2023.[29]

Falcon unveiled the new BC United name and branding on April 12, 2023.[30][31]

The renamed party was unable to prevent a surge in support for the BC Conservative Party and fell to a distant third place in public opinion polls. Four BC United MLAs crossed the floor to join the Conservatives from September 2023 to July 2024. On August 28, 2024, Falcon announced that BC United was suspending its campaign and withdrawing its candidates from the 2024 British Columbia general election in order to endorse the Conservatives. Falcon also announced he would not be running in the election.[32][33][34] Falcon remained party leader following the election. In February 2025, former BC United MLA Karin Kirkpatrick called for him to resign saying that his continued presence was preventing the party from rebuilding and raising funds to pay its debts.[35]

Personal life

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Falcon lives in North Vancouver with his wife Jessica and daughters Josephine and Rose.[4]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ BC Liberals until April 12, 2023

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i McMartin, Will (10 February 2011). "For Kevin Falcon, Next Stop Premier?". The Tyee.
  2. ^ a b Meissner, Dirk and Brieanna Charlebois (5 February 2022). "Former cabinet minister Kevin Falcon wins B.C. Liberal leadership race on 5th ballot". CBC News.
  3. ^ Fletcher, Tom (2022-04-30). "Kevin Falcon takes Vancouver by-election for seat in B.C. legislature". Chilliwack Progress.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "MLA: Kevin Falcon". Legislature of British Columbia.
  5. ^ a b Zussman, Richard (17 May 2021). "Kevin Falcon officially joins the BC Liberal leadership race". Global News.
  6. ^ Ruttle, Joseph (February 7, 2022). "B.C. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon: 5 things to know". Vancouver Sun.
  7. ^ "BC recall not so easy". rabble.ca. 10 October 2008.
  8. ^ a b Jones, Laura (11 November 2015). Cutting Red Tape in Canada: A Regulatory Reform Model for the United States? (Report). Mercatus Center.
  9. ^ Speer, Sean (8 March 2016). Regulatory Budgeting: Lessons from Canada. R Street Institute (Report).
  10. ^ Jones, Laura (20 December 2015). "Regulatory Reform: Lessons From Canada". RealClear Policy.
  11. ^ "Major TransLink overhaul going ahead". CBC News. 8 March 2007.
  12. ^ Kennedy, Peter (1 February 2006). "B.C. to invest $3-billion in bridges, highways". Globe and Mail.
  13. ^ MacLeod, Andrew (30 November 2010). "Falcon launches leadership bid with promise to lead decisively". The Tyee.
  14. ^ Shaw, Gillian (December 11, 2010). "Kevin Falcon topping Liberal leadership social media traffic". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 2010-12-03.
  15. ^ Stueck, Wendy (29 August 2012). "Resignation forces B.C cabinet overhaul". Globe and Mail.
  16. ^ Morton, Brian (April 25, 2013). "Ex-finance minister Kevin Falcon joins Anthem Capital Corp". Vancouver Sun.
  17. ^ St. Denis, Jen (April 25, 2013). "Kevin Falcon joins Anthem Properties". Business in Vancouver.
  18. ^ "Surrey Board of Trade appoints Kevin Falcon as Honourary Director". Surrey Now-Leader. February 25, 2014.
  19. ^ "Kevin Falcon supported Maxime Bernier's racist leadership campaign". British Columbia New Democratic Party. May 14, 2021.
  20. ^ Siekierski, BJ (March 28, 2017). "Bernier campaign boasts of record-setting B.C. fundraising night". iPolitics.
  21. ^ Ross, Andrea (26 October 2020). "Andrew Wilkinson resigning as B.C. Liberal leader after worst party showing in decades". CBC News.
  22. ^ DeRosa, Katie (17 February 2021). "Andrew Wilkinson formally resigns as B.C. Liberal leader, triggering leadership vote". Vancouver Sun.
  23. ^ Palmer, Vaughn (18 May 2021). "Vaughn Palmer: It will be tough for Falcon to get a consensus on renaming B.C. Liberals". Vancouver Sun.
  24. ^ Grochowski, Sarah (1 November 2021). "Liberal leadership contender Kevin Falcon fires campaign aide amid sexual harassment allegations". Vancouver Sun.
  25. ^ Zussman, Richard (17 February 2021). "Andrew Wilkinson formally resigns as BC Liberal leader months after election defeat". Global News.
  26. ^ Little, Simon (2 April 2022). "New BC Liberal leader to get first shot at seat as by-election called for April 30". Global News.
  27. ^ Zussman, Richard (April 29, 2022). "BC Liberal leader Kevin Falcon wins Vancouver-Quilchena byelection". Global News.
  28. ^ Crawford, Tiffany (August 18, 2022). "B.C. Liberal leader boots John Rustad from caucus over climate change skepticism". Vancouver Sun.
  29. ^ "John Rustad acclaimed leader of B.C. Conservatives". Global News. The Canadian Press. March 31, 2023.
  30. ^ Little, Simon (April 12, 2023). "So long BC Liberals, hello BC United: B.C.'s opposition party unveils new name". Global News.
  31. ^ Paracy, James (April 12, 2023). "BC United launches new party name in Surrey". CityNews.
  32. ^ Larsen, Karin (August 28, 2024). "Kevin Falcon ends B.C. United campaign, throws support to Conservatives". CBC News.
  33. ^ Lazenby, Alec (August 28, 2024). "B.C. United drops out of election race in deal with B.C. Conservatives". Vancouver Sun.
  34. ^ "Opposition Leader Falcon ends BC United election campaign, backs BC Conservatives". Times Colonist. Canadian Press. August 29, 2024.
  35. ^ DeRosa, Katie (February 6, 2025). "Calls grow for Kevin Falcon to resign as B.C. United leader, but the party says now's not the time". CBC News.
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