Surrey South MLA Brent Chapman leaves B.C. Conservatives to join OneBC

Surrey South MLA Brent Chapman says he is leaving the B.C. Conservatives to join OneBC. In a statement posted on X, he said the party had changed from the one he chose to run for in 2024, with differing understandings of its principles and election platform.

Chapman said caucus disagreements, increasingly playing out in public, became difficult to overlook. He said he had remained in the party because he believed there was value in working internally to defend the Conservative principles and platform presented to British Columbians.

He said the leadership process and recent months had made the decision personal as he watched his wife, former party leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay, face attacks from people who had once stood beside her. Findlay stepped down as leader on Sept. 20 after several tumultuous weeks in which 14 MLAs left caucus, either by resigning or being asked to leave.

In comments on Sept. 22, Chapman said the B.C. Conservatives had changed considerably since he joined and that OneBC's values were what British Columbia needed. He declined to comment on recent events within the party and said whether Findlay would join him in OneBC was a question for her.

OneBC's website lists policies including an immediate 50 per cent tax cut on income below $100,000; ending all claims and entitlements, along with what it calls “racist laws like UNDRIP and DRIPA”; “Quebec-style control over immigration”; removing SOGI from classrooms; and restrictions related to gender-affirming care, women’s washrooms and sports teams.

Chapman also criticized NDP Premier David Eby's Sept. 22 call for a snap provincial election, describing it as cynical and saying holding it over a municipal election was outrageous. He said his focus was on the future, with the ultimate goal of “saving British Columbia.”