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Eighth and ninth B.C. Conservative MLAs leave caucus as Independents
Donegal Wilson and Scott McInnis each cited concerns about Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s leadership and the party’s direction in announcing their departures.
Boundary-Similkameen MLA Donegal Wilson announced Wednesday morning that she is leaving the BC Conservative Party to sit as an Independent. She is the eighth MLA to leave since Kerry-Lynne Findlay was elected party leader May 30.
Wilson said she had promised herself to keep an open mind and give Findlay three months to show how she would lead. Three months later, Wilson said, she had her answer. She alleged experienced staff had been fired and that subsequent senior appointments raised serious questions about Findlay’s judgment, adding that more than one senior appointee had been reported to have links to Alberta’s separatist movement.
Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Scott McInnis announced his own departure Wednesday afternoon, making him the ninth MLA to leave the caucus within a month. McInnis said he no longer believed he could effectively serve constituents under the current leadership.
McInnis, formerly the party’s shadow minister for Indigenous relations and recently appointed to lead caucus policy development, said staffing decisions, senior appointments, caucus relations and the organization’s direction had increasingly concerned him. He said reported connections to Alberta separatism were particularly contentious in his riding and that matters involving the RCMP had added to those concerns.
McInnis said the party had become an exclusive private club more concerned with ideological bona fides than building a broad coalition to serve British Columbians and form government. He said he remains a conservative and will continue pursuing a government based on free enterprise, responsible fiscal management and a positive vision for B.C.
Last week, Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman left the party. Other departures since Findlay became leader include Áʼa:líya Warbus of Chilliwack-Cultus Lake, Teresa Wat of Richmond-Bridgeport, Brennan Day of Courtenay-Comox, Peter Milobar of Kamloops Central, Ian Paton of Delta South and Rosalyn Bird of Prince George-Valemount.