Chris Moore has officially left the BC United Party in favour of the ascendent BC Conservatives ahead of the provincial election.

Moore, who is still listed as a member on the BC United website, will now be running for the BC Conservatives in the Powell River–Sunshine Coast riding come October.

“With over thirty years of experience in property development and marketing, Chris is a distinguished industry leader,” reads an X post from the Conservative Party of BC.

“Chris has specialized expertise in land development, commercial real estate, and housing development on the Coast. His dedication to public service is also reflected in his tenure as a Councillor for the District of Sechelt.”

BC United also commented on the defection, saying that Moore had “fundamental differences with BC United in terms of not competing against the BC Conservatives”.

In other words, it doesn’t look like Moore is a fan of vote splitting. He wants to win.

“I have always cared deeply about the issues that the community of Powell River – Sunshine Coast is facing,” Moore said.

“We have such a beautiful province that shouldn’t be strangled by soaring taxes, ballooning provincial debt, and a government that is willing to accept the status quo. I am excited to be joining the BC Conservative Team and look forward to working with John Rustad to clean up the mess the NDP have made.”

Not the first defection, nor likely to be the last

Moore is only the latest in a series of recent defections away from the BC United Party to the Conservatives.

The first defection came on May 31, when BCU MLA Lorne Doerkson announced he’d be running for John Rustad’s Conservatives.

Since then, BCU MLA Elenore Sturko has left the party, along with MLA hopeful Brandon Fonseca, on June 4, bringing the count of BCU defections up to 4 in less than 3 weeks.