Kevin Falcon

{{Infobox officeholder

| image = File:Kevin Falcon.jpg

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Kevin Falcon

| honorific-suffix =

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1963}}

| birth_place = West Vancouver, British Columbia

| office = Leader of BC United{{efn|BC Liberals until April 12, 2023}}

| term_start = February 5, 2022

| term_end =

| predecessor = Shirley Bond (interim)

| successor =

| office1 = Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia

| term_start1 = May 16, 2022

| term_end1 = September 21, 2024

| predecessor1 = Shirley Bond

| successor1 = John Rustad

| assembly2 = British Columbia Legislative

| constituency_AM2 = Vancouver-Quilchena

| term_start2 = April 30, 2022

| term_end2 = September 21, 2024

| predecessor2 = Andrew Wilkinson

| successor2 = Dallas Brodie

| party = BC United

| residence = North Vancouver, British Columbia

| occupation = Financial executive

| office3 = 12th Deputy Premier of British Columbia

| premier3 = Christy Clark

| term_start3 = March 14, 2011

| term_end3 = September 5, 2012

| predecessor3 = Colin Hansen

| successor3 = Rich Coleman

| office4 = Minister of Finance of
British Columbia

| premier4 = Christy Clark

| term_start4 = March 14, 2011

| term_end4 = September 5, 2012

| predecessor4 = Colin Hansen

| successor4 = Mike de Jong

| assembly5 = British Columbia Legislative

| constituency_AM5 = Surrey-Cloverdale

| term_start5 = May 16, 2001

| term_end5 = April 16, 2013

| predecessor5 = Bonnie McKinnon

| successor5 = Stephanie Cadieux

| office6 = Minister of Health Services of
British Columbia

| premier6 = Gordon Campbell

| term_start6 = June 10, 2009

| term_end6 = November 30, 2010

| predecessor6 = George Abbott

| successor6 = Colin Hansen

| office7 = Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure of British Columbia

| premier7 = Gordon Campbell

| term_start7 = January 26, 2004

| term_end7 = June 10, 2009

| predecessor7 = Judith Reid

| successor7 = Shirley Bond

| office8 = Minister of State for Deregulation
of British Columbia

| premier8 = Gordon Campbell

| term_start8 = June 5, 2001

| term_end8 = January 26, 2004

| predecessor8 =

| successor8 = Rick Thorpe

}}

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. 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.{{Cite news | title=Kevin Falcon takes Vancouver by-election for seat in B.C. legislature |url=https://www.theprogress.com/news/kevin-falcon-takes-vancouver-by-election-for-seat-in-b-c-legislature-1928245 | first=Tom | last=Fletcher | work=Chilliwack Progress |date=2022-04-30}} He formerly served as the MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale as a member of the then BC Liberals from 2001 to 2013. He served as both the 12th deputy premier of British Columbia, and the province's minister of Finance.

Early life and career

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.{{cite news |url=https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2011/02/10/FalconOdds/ | last=McMartin |first=Will |title=For Kevin Falcon, Next Stop Premier? | work=The Tyee |date=10 February 2011}}{{Cite news | url=https://vancouversun.com/news/politics/b-c-liberal-leader-kevin-falcon-five-things | title=B.C. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon: 5 things to know | first=Joseph | last=Ruttle | work=Vancouver Sun | date=February 7, 2022}}

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

After graduation, Falcon was part of a movement to 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.

Falcon set up a communications consultancy, Access Group, in 1998.

He was a lead organizer of the "Total Recall" effort to recall a number of BC New Democratic Party MLAs in 1999.{{cite news |url=https://rabble.ca/columnists/bc-recall-not-so-easy/ |title=BC recall not so easy |work=rabble.ca |date=10 October 2008}}

Provincial politics (2001–2013)

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

=Campbell ministry=

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).{{cite report | title=Regulatory Budgeting: Lessons from Canada | issue=Policy Study No. 54 | url=https://www.rstreet.org/research/regulatory-budgeting-lessons-from-canada/ | first=Sean | last=Speer | work=R Street Institute | date=8 March 2016}}

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.{{cite report | title=Cutting Red Tape in Canada: A Regulatory Reform Model for the United States? | url=https://www.mercatus.org/research/research-papers/cutting-red-tape-canada-regulatory-reform-model-united-states | first=Laura | last=Jones | publisher=Mercatus Center | date=11 November 2015}}{{cite news | first=Laura | last=Jones | title=Regulatory Reform: Lessons From Canada | url=https://www.realclearpolicy.com/blog/2015/12/21/regulatory_reform_lessons_from_canada_1499.html | work=RealClear Policy | date=20 December 2015}}

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"). 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.{{cite news | work=CBC News | date=8 March 2007 | title=Major TransLink overhaul going ahead | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/major-translink-overhaul-going-ahead-1.674793}}

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.{{cite news | url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/bc-to-invest-3-billion-in-bridges-highways/article965225/ | work=Globe and Mail | title=B.C. to invest $3-billion in bridges, highways | last=Kennedy | first=Peter | date=1 February 2006}}

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

=Campaign for Liberal leadership=

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.{{cite news | url=https://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Election-Central/2010/11/30/FalconLaunch/ | title=Falcon launches leadership bid with promise to lead decisively | first=Andrew | last=MacLeod | work=The Tyee | date=30 November 2010}} At that time, Falcon's social media traffic was the highest of declared candidates.{{cite news | url=https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/kevin-falcon-topping-liberal-leadership-social-media-traffic | title=Kevin Falcon topping Liberal leadership social media traffic | first=Gillian | last=Shaw | work=Vancouver Sun | date=December 11, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203101903/http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/techsense/archive/2010/11/30/kevin-falcon-topping-liberal-leadership-social-media-traffic.aspx |archive-date=2010-12-03 | url-status=live}} 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=

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.{{cite news | url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/resignation-forces-bc-cabinet-overhaul/article4507630/ | last=Stueck | first=Wendy | title=Resignation forces B.C cabinet overhaul | work=Globe and Mail | date=29 August 2012}}

Break from political office (2013–2021)

After leaving the legislature, Falcon moved to North Vancouver and joined Vancouver-based Anthem Capital as their Executive Vice President.{{cite news | url=https://vancouversun.com/business/2035/ex-finance-minister-kevin-falcon-joins-anthem-capital-corp | title=Ex-finance minister Kevin Falcon joins Anthem Capital Corp | first=Brian | last=Morton | work=Vancouver Sun | date=April 25, 2013}}{{Cite news | url=https://www.biv.com/news/real-estate/kevin-falcon-joins-anthem-properties-8236282 | title=Kevin Falcon joins Anthem Properties | first=Jen | last=St. Denis | work=Business in Vancouver | date=April 25, 2013}} He also took on volunteer roles with non-profit organizations including the Canuck Place Foundation, Lions Gate Hospital Foundation and the Streetohome Foundation. In February 2014, he was also named as an honorary director of the Surrey Board of Trade.{{Cite news | url=https://www.surreynowleader.com/business/surrey-board-of-trade-appoints-kevin-falcon-as-honourary-director-2904401 | title=Surrey Board of Trade appoints Kevin Falcon as Honourary Director | work=Surrey Now-Leader | date=February 25, 2014}}

He endorsed Maxime Bernier in the 2017 Conservative Leadership Race.{{Cite news | url=https://www.bcndp.ca/releases/kevin-falcon-supported-maxime-berniers-racist-leadership-campaign | title=Kevin Falcon supported Maxime Bernier’s racist leadership campaign | work=British Columbia New Democratic Party | date=May 14, 2021}} 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.{{Cite news | url=https://www.ipolitics.ca/2017/03/28/bernier-campaign-boasts-of-record-setting-b-c-fundraising-night/ | title=Bernier campaign boasts of record-setting B.C. fundraising night | first=BJ | last=Siekierski | work=iPolitics | date=March 28, 2017}}

Return to political office (2021–2025)

BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson announced his resignation on 26 October 2020,{{Cite news | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/andrew-wilkinson-resigns-1.5777282 | last=Ross | first=Andrea | title=Andrew Wilkinson resigning as B.C. Liberal leader after worst party showing in decades | work=CBC News | date=26 October 2020}} and officially resigned on 17 February 2021, triggering a year-long BC Liberal leadership race.{{Cite news | url=https://vancouversun.com/news/politics/andrew-wilkinson-formally-resigns-as-b-c-liberal-leader-triggering-leadership-vote | last=DeRosa | first=Katie | title=Andrew Wilkinson formally resigns as B.C. Liberal leader, triggering leadership vote | work=Vancouver Sun | date=17 February 2021}} Falcon officially joined the race a month later.{{Cite news | url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7869322/kevin-falcon-officially-joins-the-bc-liberal-leadership-race/ | last=Zussman | first=Richard | title=Kevin Falcon officially joins the BC Liberal leadership race | work=Global News | date=17 May 2021}} In his launch speech, Falcon committed to renaming the BC Liberal Party in consultation with members to better reflect the party's values.{{Cite news | url=https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vaughn-palmer-it-will-be-tough-for-falcon-to-get-a-consensus-on-renaming-b-c-liberals | last=Palmer | first=Vaughn | title=Vaughn Palmer: It will be tough for Falcon to get a consensus on renaming B.C. Liberals | work=Vancouver Sun | date=18 May 2021}}

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.{{Cite news | last=Grochowski | first=Sarah | title=Liberal leadership contender Kevin Falcon fires campaign aide amid sexual harassment allegations | work=Vancouver Sun | url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/liberal-leadership-contender-kevin-falcon-fires-campaign-aide-amid-sexual-harassment-allegations | date=1 November 2021}}

Falcon won the leadership on February 5, 2022, crossing the 50% threshold required to win on the fifth ballot.{{Cite news | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/former-cabinet-minister-kevin-falcon-wins-b-c-liberal-leadership-race-on-5th-ballot-1.6341317 | last=Meissner | first=Dirk and Brieanna Charlebois | title=Former cabinet minister Kevin Falcon wins B.C. Liberal leadership race on 5th ballot |work=CBC News | date=5 February 2022}} Following Falcon's win, Andrew Wilkinson formally resigned as an MLA to free up his seat in Vancouver-Quilchena for Falcon to run.{{Cite news | url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7646608/andrew-wilkinson-formally-resigns/ | first=Richard | last=Zussman | title=Andrew Wilkinson formally resigns as BC Liberal leader months after election defeat | work=Global News |date=17 February 2021}} A by-election for the riding was called on April 2, 2022.{{Cite news |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/8730815/bc-byelection-vancouver-quilchena-april-30/ | last=Little | first=Simon |title=New BC Liberal leader to get first shot at seat as by-election called for April 30 | work=Global News |date=2 April 2022}} Falcon won the by-election, being elected MLA for the riding.{{Cite news | url=https://globalnews.ca/news/8798529/voters-set-to-decide-if-kevin-falcon-will-be-able-to-lead-bc-liberals-in-legislature/ | title=BC Liberal leader Kevin Falcon wins Vancouver-Quilchena byelection |first=Richard | last=Zussman | work=Global News | date=April 29, 2022}}

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.”{{Cite news | url=https://vancouversun.com/news/politics/falcon-rustad-climate-change-denial | last=Crawford | first=Tiffany | title=B.C. Liberal leader boots John Rustad from caucus over climate change skepticism | work=Vancouver Sun | date=August 18, 2022}} Rustad later joined the BC Conservatives and was acclaimed as their new leader in March 2023.{{Cite news | url=https://globalnews.ca/news/9593675/john-rustad-bc-conservative-leader/ | title=John Rustad acclaimed leader of B.C. Conservatives | agency=The Canadian Press | work=Global News | date=March 31, 2023}}

Falcon unveiled the new BC United name and branding on April 12, 2023.{{Cite news | url=https://globalnews.ca/news/9618770/so-long-bc-liberals-hello-bc-united/ |title=So long BC Liberals, hello BC United: B.C.'s opposition party unveils new name | first=Simon | last=Little | work=Global News | date=April 12, 2023}}{{Cite news | url=https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/04/12/bc-united-party-falcon/ | title=BC United launches new party name in Surrey | first=James | last=Paracy | work=CityNews | date=April 12, 2023}}

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.{{Cite news | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kevin-falcon-ends-b-c-united-campaign-throws-support-to-conservatives-1.7307302 | title=Kevin Falcon ends B.C. United campaign, throws support to Conservatives | first=Karin | last=Larsen | work=CBC News | date=August 28, 2024}}{{Cite news | url=https://vancouversun.com/news/bc-election-united-folding-kevin-falcon-resigns | title=B.C. United drops out of election race in deal with B.C. Conservatives | first=Alec | last=Lazenby | work=Vancouver Sun | date=August 28, 2024}}{{Cite news | url=https://www.timescolonist.com/2024-bc-votes/emergency-meeting-for-opposition-bc-united-major-statement-from-bc-conservatives-9447367 | title=Opposition Leader Falcon ends BC United election campaign, backs BC Conservatives | agency=Canadian Press | work=Times Colonist | date=August 29, 2024}} 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.{{cite news | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kevin-falcon-resignation-calls-1.7452616 | last=DeRosa | first=Katie | title=Calls grow for Kevin Falcon to resign as B.C. United leader, but the party says now's not the time | work=CBC News | date=February 6, 2025}}

Personal life

Falcon lives in North Vancouver with his wife Jessica and daughters Josephine and Rose.{{cite web | url=https://www.leg.bc.ca/members/42nd-Parliament/Falcon-Kevin | title=MLA: Kevin Falcon | work=Legislature of British Columbia}}