VANCOUVER — When Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka noticed an annual $1,225 donation to BC United had been charged to his credit card weeks after the party suspended its provincial election campaign last year, he "immediately" sought a refund from the party.
"I phoned them right away," Krakowka said, adding that he was quite sure the refund went through, but would have to check his credit card statement to confirm.
Like many other former supporters of the now inactive party, Krakowka had previously signed up to make an automatic contribution.
Political financing reports filed with Elections BC suggest that such automated payments were almost entirely responsible for BC United collecting more than $223,000 in donations last year after folding its campaign in the summer, including tens of thousands received after the Oct. 19 vote.
The reports show almost every donation occurred on the 20th of each month.
BC United was the official Opposition heading into the election but leader Kevin Falcon suspended its campaign on Aug. 28 and urged supporters to switch their votes to the B.C. Conservative Party, which came close to defeating the NDP government.
The Elections BC report shows BC United received more than $86,000 last year after the election.
While BC United did not run any candidates, its online donations portal has been updated to reflect donation limits that came into effect in 2025.
Neither Falcon nor the party's financial agent, Aaron Fedora, immediately responded to a request for comment, and phone numbers listed on the party's financial reports and website are not connected.
Former BC United MLA Karin Kirkpatrick said she was "shocked" to learn the party collected donations after abandoning the campaign.
"I cancelled my contribution immediately. So did everyone in my family," Kirkpatrick said. "I was very angry last year that I had asked my friends and family to donate."
Kirkpatrick said she and others are in a "working group" trying to find a way "to make sure that the party can survive so that it can pay off all those individuals and businesses who had faith in the party and are owed money by the party."
She said the party executive aren't all agreed on keeping it as a "going concern," and the abrupt end to its campaign caused confusion about whether it would still exist afterwards.
"When the party was pulled out of the election, it did not mean there was no more party," she said. "There's still bills to be paid."
She said she hopes to possibly rebuild BC United to give voters a centrist alternative to both the NDP and the B.C. Conservatives.
"If people are donating, they really need to understand they're either donating to pay off debts and the party goes away, or they're donating to believe in something in the future where that party can come back," she said.
The Elections BC reports show that in the last three months of 2024, the Conservatives raked in about $1.5 million, the NDP $1.79 million and the BC Green Party collected more than $558,000 in donations.
After Falcon's party bowed out of the election, the NDP and Conservatives were nearly tied dollar for dollar in donations.
Between Aug. 29 and Dec. 31, the BC Conservatives took in just under $3.93 million from 4,534 contributions, while the NDP received just over $3.93 million from 7,439 contributions.
Provincial political contributions in B.C. are capped at about $1,484 in 2025, up from just over $1,450 last year.
Former BC United candidate Kevin Acton, who ran in the election as an independent, sued the party in small claims court for reimbursement of election expenses last month.
The party appealed for donations after suspending its campaign, warning that without support it would "be very difficult to continue as a registered political party."
"There is no alternative. Either we raise the funds required to meet our commitments, or BC United will be unable to continue," the party's online donation portal said.
Kirkpatrick said she recently spoke to a small-business owner owed $11,000 by the party, and said whether such creditors will be repaid is uncertain as the party's future existence is "up in the air."
She said the possibility of the party's insolvency is a "significant concern."
"We need a reasonable centre that we can support, so that's my goal," she said. Whether it's a realistic goal right now, I don't know."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2025.
Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press