Boundary-Similkameen MLA Donegal Wilson leaves B.C. Conservatives

Boundary-Similkameen MLA Donegal Wilson has left the B.C. Conservative Party, saying she has lost confidence in party leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay. Wilson says she will sit as an Independent MLA.

Wilson said she had sought a full caucus meeting for weeks amid departures and controversies involving Findlay. She said she was disappointed when a planned meeting was cancelled, and then upset when caucus leadership arrived at a substitute meeting held by MLAs in Surrey on Monday and asked them to door-knock for Findlay.

In a written statement, Wilson said she had intended to keep an open mind and give Findlay three months to demonstrate how she would lead after becoming leader. She said she now had her answer and had not expected matters to go wrong so quickly.

Wilson is the eighth MLA to leave the Conservatives in less than a month and the 15th since the 2024 election. That leaves 29 of the party’s 44 elected MLAs in caucus. Staff have also left the party apparatus, either voluntarily or at the request of Findlay and her team, including executive director Angelo Isidorou and party president Aisha Estey.

Wilson said Findlay had appointed people with questionable records to replace departing staff, including some who expressed sympathy for Alberta separatists. She also criticized Findlay’s internal and external strategies, saying she had little interaction with the leader despite requesting meetings. Wilson said the departures did not appear to be treated as a crisis and suggested they could be part of a strategy to replace candidates in departing MLAs’ ridings before the next election.

Wilson also raised concerns about allegations that Findlay and her team offered jobs to several MLAs in exchange for resigning their seats so Findlay could run in a byelection. Findlay was elected leader in May but does not hold a seat in the legislature. Canada’s Criminal Code prohibits offering a reward or profit in exchange for an elected official’s resignation. Delta South MLA Ian Paton said the RCMP was interviewing him Wednesday morning about the allegations. Findlay has denied doing anything illegal.

The B.C. Conservative caucus said it remains focused on its role as Official Opposition, holding the NDP government accountable and restoring prosperity in the province. Paton and Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar, both recent Conservative defectors, say they plan to form a new party. Wilson ruled out joining the NDP and said she would take a wait-and-see approach to any effort involving Milobar and Paton.