How the B.C. Conservatives went from a rising force to party turmoil

The B.C. Conservative Party has been shaken by resignations, firings and defections that have unfolded rapidly in recent weeks. More than one-third of the MLAs elected under its banner in 2024 have now left the party.

In the first two months after Kerry-Lynne Findlay won the May 30 leadership race, a number of party and caucus officials were fired or resigned. Former B.C. Reform Party president Chris Delaney, former Alberta Republican Party executive director Apollo Chung and former Juno News editor Cosmin Dzsurdzsa were among those brought in. MLAs complained that they were sidelined from decisions and media communications, while Findlay held only two in-person caucus meetings to hear their concerns.

Party executive director Angelo Isidorou resigned July 30 and was replaced by Findlay loyalist Elaine Allen. On Aug. 14, Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar left caucus, citing a difference in values with Findlay. Party president Aisha Estey stepped down Aug. 20, with board member Mauro Francis taking over.

The larger wave began Aug. 24, when Delta South MLA Ian Paton left caucus. He accused Findlay and her team of muzzling him as agriculture critic and said he would form a new party with Milobar. Paton also alleged that Findlay, who does not hold a legislative seat, asked him to resign so she could contest a byelection in his riding and offered him a party job in return. Reports say others may have received a similar offer. The Criminal Code of Canada prohibits offering a reward or benefit to induce a public office holder to resign. Paton said the RCMP interviewed him this week about the allegations; Findlay denies wrongdoing.

Other recent caucus departures include Prince George-Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird, Richmond-Bridgeport MLA Teresa Wat, Courtenay-Comox MLA Brennan Day, Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman, Chilliwack-Cultus Lake MLA Á’a:líya Warbus, Boundary-Similkameen MLA Donegal Wilson and Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Scott McInnis. In her Sept. 2 resignation letter, Wilson said she had intended to give Findlay three months to show how she would lead, but said she had not expected matters to go wrong so quickly.

Along with the nine defectors, Abbotsford-Mission MLA Reann Gasper resigned her seat to make room for Findlay to seek election to the legislature. The byelection is scheduled for Sept. 26. Gasper is now Findlay’s chief of staff, having replaced Delaney, who resigned amid mounting controversies and allegations.

Six other MLAs had already left between the 2024 election and Findlay’s leadership. Two face criminal charges unrelated to their legislative work. Richmond Centre MLA Hon Chan was charged in an alleged intimate partner violence case and was expelled from caucus once the charges became public. Peace River North MLA Jordan Kealy faces sexual assault charges, although he had left before those charges were disclosed.

Kealy left after former leader John Rustad expelled Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Dalla Brodie over social-media posts about residential schools in March 2025. Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream MLA Tara Armstrong also left. Armstrong and Brodie briefly formed the OneBC Party, then split after disagreeing over whether to dismiss a staff member accused of making racist social-media posts, leaving the party to Brodie.

Rustad also removed Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Elenore Sturko, alleging she was organizing against him. Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee resigned in solidarity. Sturko now sits as an Independent, while Boultbee has crossed the floor to the NDP.

Only 28 of the 44 B.C. Conservative MLAs elected in 2024 remain in the party, and further departures are expected. Five recent defectors say they will create a new party, with Milobar as interim leader and Paton, Bird, Banman and Warbus joining him. Several others have expressed interest but are waiting to see how the party develops.

The party’s rise began after Rustad was ejected from the B.C. Liberal Party by leader Kevin Falcon in August 2022, when the B.C. Conservatives had no MLAs. Rustad joined the party on Feb. 16, 2023, giving it its first seat in a decade, and became leader by acclamation less than two months later. Over the next 18 months, as more MLAs defected from B.C. United, Rustad and Isidorou built the party into a political force.

The provincial party is separate from Pierre Poilievre’s federal Conservatives, but both share a name and their political fortunes rose as the federal party gained in polls amid dissatisfaction with former prime minister Justin Trudeau. On Aug. 28, 2024, Falcon withdrew all B.C. United candidates less than two months before voting began. The report describes that as a backroom deal that many sitting MLAs learned of too late to challenge. Those wishing to remain under a party banner had to join Rustad, while candidates considered too far left were excluded; those who ran as Independents lost.

The resulting coalition came within three ridings of winning government. In Surrey-Guildford, the Conservatives fell 22 votes short of costing Premier David Eby his majority. The party won 44 seats, compared with 47 for the NDP and two for the B.C. Greens. Two years later, the Conservatives have 28 MLAs, the NDP 47 and the Greens two, alongside 10 Independents and five members of an unnamed party. Vancouver-Strathcona is vacant following Joan Phillip’s death, and Abbotsford-Mission is vacant following Gasper’s resignation.

The report says the quickly assembled Conservative coalition was broad but not firmly built. Findlay beat Caroline Elliott 51 per cent to 49 per cent on the fourth ballot at the May 30 convention, yet appeared to do little bridge-building with those who had not supported her. She dismissed or forced out many party and caucus staff, who worked daily with MLAs and were relied upon by many of them.

MLAs say they were excluded from strategy meetings and at times prevented from speaking to the press. Anonymous social-media accounts have released videos, audio and documents that departing caucus members say are authentic. The report says the material casts Findlay’s inner circle in an unfavourable light and supports complaints from defectors.

Several controversial hires, including Delaney, have since left. In a Sept. 3 statement, Findlay appeared to acknowledge some responsibility but stopped short of a full apology. She said she intended to lead with determination and humility, and that strong leaders listen, learn and make changes when needed.

Whether that is enough to halt the departures will be decided by remaining caucus members and Abbotsford-Mission voters. Even if more members leave and Findlay fails to win a seat, party rules could make removing her difficult. The constitution permits removal of a leader only upon death or a finding that the leader is professionally incapacitated. The board used the latter clause to remove Rustad, but the report says it is unlikely two consecutive leaders would be deemed professionally incapacitated, leaving the next steps largely in Findlay’s hands.